Cancer

In May of 2009, we found out my sister, Casey, had a giant tumor taking up most of the lower right side of her torso. Within the next week, we found out it was an osteosarcoma that had metastasized to her lungs and possibly her right shoulder. We also found out that she was most likely looking at the complete amputation of her right leg and half her pelvis. Some osteosarcomas can be removed by surgery, but due to the size, location, and extensive damage done to her hip bone, the orthopedic surgeon decided it was too risky to remove the tumor itself.
I became my sister's caretaker for the next 5 years. She went through 16 surgeries, a year of chemo, and two months of inpatient physical therapy before passing away in March of 2014.
I was doing a self portrait project at the time we found out about her cancer, and continued to photo document throughout the process.