Meet Maylla.
I'm so proud of this project that I could only leave her as she is: no retouches, no filters, and no photoshop. “Leave me as I am”, she had asked me. When I met Maylla, I knew I should have a photography session with her because she is so witty, generous and sweet. Above all, she is a warrior. She is bigger than the cancer that tried to defeat her. She found some feelings from her heart and shared her story in her own words: Curves and more curves The curves are not always symmetrical. What is symmetry when it comes to the human body? And what are these human curves when we have a perfect machine for our soul to inhabit and lead us wherever we want to go? Honouring this precious machine is the starting point and the sky is the limit. It's not about the body and its form, it's about the legacy that was left through this body while harbouring a soul. Hi, my name is Maylla and I'm 33 years old. On the 6th January 2020, I had an accident with my bike and I broke my elbow. One month later on the 23rd February, I went to the doctor to check it out and also do a woman's checkup. That was when I discovered that I had a lump on my right breast. It wasn't a diagnosis but I could feel like it was. I could feel my heart almost stop for a moment. I came back to the clinic and the doctor wrote a letter and asked me to bring it to the hospital for the oncologist department. That was my first experience with that word. I could imagine what it meant, but I wasn't sure, so I called my mum and told her what the doctor said and then she asked if I knew what an oncologist means. From the deep bottom of my heart, something was telling me to keep calm and everything would be fine. By this time, Covid-19 had arrived and the world came into lockdown. One month later I was called by the hospital and the investigation started. On the 5th May 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. On the 29th, I had a full mastectomy on the right side. The mastectomy had removed my whole breast affected by my cancer. So, It wasn't necessary to do chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The doctor advised me to treat it with hormone therapy. I had to take 1 tablet per day for five years. At the beginning of November 2021, I found a lump on my armpit while I was having a shower. I could feel my heart pumping harder. I could not believe it could be cancer again. It wasn't my first time. I knew it was cancer again. But I needed to arrange an appointment with the hospital as soon as possible. I did more exams and once again I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It wasn't a different cancer. It was same cancer which made me lose my breast. I had one more surgery and on the 3rd of December, I had my first round of chemotherapy. It was 20 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiotherapy. Today I'm undergoing hormone therapy treatment. Receiving an injection of hormones in my tummy every month and taking a tablet every day for 5 years. I do exams often as a mammogram, ultrasound and CT scan. And I always check my breast by myself at least once per month. By Maylla Miguel