During the photo sessions and the interviews the patients could live again and resize the array of emotions that they went through or the ones they are still experiencing. These were opportunities to regain self esteem and to find a bigger meaning in the challenge of fighting the disease.
All women who fully shared their histories, even in different stages – the diagnosis, the treatment or the recovery one – found within the project a way to express their feelings and give hope and courage to whoever is following the same road.
Thus, the photo exhibition was divided into four moments: the detection, the process, the support, and the overcoming. Some of the most touching passages of the declarations were also transformed into panels, completing the exposition.
During the period in which the exhibition is happening there are interactive lectures always open to the general public. They are a space for open dialogue about the topic where doctors, patients, family member, friends, caretakers and spectators can share experiences, get touched, be informed, answer their doubts, pour out their hearts or just listen and reflect in silence about their different roles.
And, through images and dialogues, the Open Hearted project gives the opportunity to women who have or had the disease to express themselves and to the public to get to know them and learn with their stories of success.