As a piano played softly in the background at the UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital on Thursday night, Ellen Waugerman reflected on her photographs of the moon, a rainbow and a firework.
"I like anything with light," the 68-year-old Hawthorne local said.
Waugerman, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2010, shared her artwork with about 45 people who attended "Gallery of Hope."
The gallery was the first of its kind, and it educated attendees about Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
The exhibit featured 35 photos from 10 UF Health pancreatic-cancer survivors and six caregivers as part of "Assessing the Benefits of PhotoVoice in Pancreatic Cancer," a research study led by UF researcher Shan Wong.
Throughout the yearlong study, survivors and caregivers told their stories through photographs, said Wong, a UF clinical and health psychology graduate student.
"The pictures help them express their emotions," the 27-year-old said. "It’s kind of like reliving their experiences but in a very therapeutic way."
Waugerman is a survivor.
Within three years, she was diagnosed with colon and lung cancer, in addition to her pancreatic cancer.
The doctors think she’s cured, but every three months she said she has to do a CAT scan to make sure nothing has changed.
But she’s optimistic about the future, she said. Through her photos, she’s been able to get away from the feeling of having nothing.
"Things are looking up," Waugerman said.
Jupiter native and carpenter Chuck Henderson also survived pancreatic cancer, and his photo series was featured at the exhibit. He was treated at UF, and he said his tumor went from the size of a silver dollar to a small pea.
"I never looked at it like a death sentence," the 53-year-old said. "I looked at it as another bump in the road."
He said his photo series, which featured a vase of dying tulips coming back to life, shows how UF doctors helped him heal.
Kristen Henderson, Chuck Henderson’s daughter, said her father’s photos showed how he felt through the experience.
"It’s made our family grow a lot and made me appreciate my dad a lot more," the 19-year-old UF nursing freshman said.
Photographs taken by UF Health pancreatic cancer survivors and caregivers line windows at the Criser Cancer Resource Center located in the UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital on Nov. 12, 2015. The photos were a part of a research study “Assessing the Benefits of PhotoVoice,” led by Shan Wong, 27-year-old UF clinical and health psychology graduate student. “It’s literally giving cameras to participants and having them tell us the stories of their lives and experiences through their pictures,“ Wong said.
