Art has the power to transcend words, offering solace, connection, and even healing. For those facing cancer, creativity can become a lifeline — a way to process the unthinkable, reclaim identity, and find hope in unexpected places.
Twist Out Cancer is a global community that provides psychological support to those touched by cancer through creative arts programs. Founded by Jenna Benn Shersher, a cancer survivor who discovered the healing power of creativity during her own journey, the organization channels art as a tool for connection and resilience. Its signature initiative, Brushes With Cancer, pairs individuals affected by cancer — called “Inspirations” — with artists who create deeply personal works of art that reflect their journey. Over several months, the pairs meet to share stories, reflect on experiences, and explore ideas. The resulting artwork becomes a powerful reflection of strength, vulnerability, and courage.
This year, the 2025 Brushes With Cancer Art Exhibition and Celebration will be held on March 15 at the Writers Theater in Glencoe, Illinois. The event will showcase 20 original pieces of art created through these pairings, each one capturing a unique journey with cancer. While the event offers a powerful in-person experience, the stories behind these works resonate far beyond a single evening, serving as lasting reminders of art’s ability to forge connections, offer healing, and inspire hope.
Here, three Inspirations and the artists who translated their stories into powerful works of art share their journeys — stories that reveal how the act of creating can illuminate a path forward.
Virginia Wyatt Wharton and Mignon Dupepe
In the summer of 2019, Chicago-based Virginia Wyatt Wharton was postpartum and experiencing rectal bleeding. A colonoscopy revealed stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to her liver and lungs. She went straight to chemotherapy, radiation, and a multi-organ surgery, but the COVID-19 onset delayed many of her procedures and treatments. “Anytime that anything slowed down my progress, that was hard for me,” she said. “I had a delay in my chemo. I had an infection around my port. I just want to get through this as quickly as I could.”
Five years after her diagnosis date, some friends who had also been affected by cancer told Wharton about Brushes with Cancer and how much art therapy had helped them. She applied and was paired with Mignon Dupepe, a psychotherapist like Wharton and a Brushes with Cancer board member. Wharton is Dupepe’s sixth muse. “Each time you create this bond with a new friend, it’s powerful, touching, and impactful,” she said.
At their first meeting, Wharton said, “I found Mignon to be so warm, such a close and respectful listener. She didn’t jump to any conclusions, but always just had really thoughtful questions that made me think about the experience in a different way.”
Throughout several meetings, Dupepe listened to Wharton’s story and discussed her visual likes and dislikes, themes that meant a lot to her: Big Sur, the artist Frida Kahlo, and a warrior mentality. “We had a lot of discussions about balancing these different roles as a mother and a therapist and a creator and a musician and a poet and a writer,” Dupepe said. “How do you balance it all, given this cancer diagnosis and navigating all these surgeries and feeling crappy.”
As they got to know each other, Dupepe visited Wharton’s house with her art supplies. “As a mom of young kids, I’m used to being in charge of the art supplies, making sure they don’t draw on the walls or something,” Wharton said. “It was so cool to be the one who gets to play with the art supplies.”
Wharton didn’t see the finished piece — acrylic paint and collage on a 30″ x 40″ canvas — until a few weeks before the benefit, and she was delighted with the results. “There were some just really interesting coincidences that I was like, ‘Wow, that actually has this reference to my family that wasn’t intended, but it just speaks to that creative magic.”
Wharton said the act of serving as an inspiration and participating in the creative process was liberating and powerful to have her experiences mirrored back to her, especially as a therapist who frequently mirrors for her own clients. Of Brushes with Cancer, she says, “It’s such a unique healing modality. It’s therapeutic. It’s creative. There’s the potential there for moving forward. Not necessarily with a destination in mind, but just making sense of something that doesn’t make any sense.”
Crystal Bichalski and Joelle Bilow
In August 2024, New Jersey-based professional astrologer Crystal Bichalski was diagnosed with stage two ovarian cancer after she sought the source of persistent back pain; she finished chemotherapy at the end of 2024, although she still needs to go for scans every three months and recover from the effects of chemotherapy.
Chicago-based artist Joelle Bilow, who had been involved with Twist Out Cancer since 2016, was already a client of Bichalski’s before the cancer diagnosis, so their artist/inspiration pairing was written in the stars. Bichalski readily agreed when Bilow invited her to participate in Brushes with Cancer to celebrate her story. “I think going through cancer gives you a fearlessness to try new things,” Bichalski said.
Even with their prior relationship, Bichalski didn’t know what to expect. “I don’t really share a lot of my personal life with people,” she said. “Cancer in itself has been incredibly humbling and exposed my vulnerabilities at the deepest.” Working with Bilow, she said, “Did put my vulnerabilities front and center, but it also allowed me to talk about symbolism and creativity with art that make me feel good and alive and hopeful.”
Bilow was excited by the opportunity to give back to someone who had helped her before. “As soon as we started our conversation, I started sketching stuff down.” They texted a few times a week during the creative process so Bilow could check in with Bichalski, to send photos she was using for inspiration or to confirm the meaning of certain symbols she was exploring, like the planet Mars, a whale’s tail, the shape of a uterus and fallopian tubes, and ocean themes to reflect Bichalski’s love of Hawaii. “She had an idea, and I was like, ‘Love it.’ I had an idea. She’s like, ‘Great, let’s incorporate it,’” Bichalski said. “There were no roadblocks in what we did.”
Bichalski opted not to see the finished multimedia piece until the night of the benefit, which she will travel to attend in person. “Twist Out Cancer is something that I’ll always remember as a huge healing part of this journey,” she said. “The process of collaboration, being vulnerable, and letting somebody in does help your soul grow.”
Bond Courtney and Rosa Henriquez
Bond Courtney learned she had breast cancer in August 2023. Her oldest daughter was about to go to college, and, for encouragement, Courtney accompanied her child to her required medical appointments and immunizations, which was when a mammogram flagged her cancer. “It was done on a Thursday, we got my daughter off to college on a Saturday, and Monday I found out that I had invasive ductal carcinoma,” she said.
Courtney opted not to tell her daughter about her diagnosis at first. “I didn’t want to interrupt her freshman year at school. I wanted her to meet new friends, enjoy that whole experience and that whole life without any interruption,” she said. Courtney finally shared the news over Thanksgiving break. “Of course she was emotional, but I let her know that I was okay.”
After her last round of chemotherapy, Courtney wanted to celebrate. “I climbed the mountain; I beat the giant. I want to tell my story.” She felt ready to meet new people who had also been diagnosed with cancer and to share that part of her life.
Courtney had learned about Twist Out Cancer from a fellow survivor friend, and it sounded like the perfect way to connect and let other cancer patients know they could also persevere. “You may have times where it may seem dark, but you can get through it,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to share your story and talk about it, because you could help someone who may also be going through this.”
Rosa Henriquez is an artist based in Miami who began her painting and fiber art practice seriously during COVID-19 and applied to Brushes with Cancer when she saw an announcement calling for artists. After Brushes with Cancer paired her with Courtney, she sent over a questionnaire to learn a few basics, and then they got to know each other through texts, Zoom, and phone calls.
“It was a great experience,” Courtney said, admitting it was a little awkward initially. “You don’t know what this person may think. You don’t want to give all your sadness. But she was great, [we] connected and developed a friendship after a while. We talked, she told me about her family, and I shared stories about my family.”
Upon seeing the finished piece, Courtney was thrilled to see the fruits of their conversations in fiber, embroidery, and beadwork. “[Rosa] listened, and she put things that were very meaningful to me in that piece.” Henriquez captured images Courtney told her she likes to be surrounded by: tulips, sunshine, and the color purple. She had asked Courtney whether there was a phrase or mantra that kept her going through her recovery process, and Henriquez embroidered Philippians 4:13 on the back of the piece: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me.”
Courtney and Henriquez later shared their experience of hope and inspiration on The Twist Out Cancer Podcast. This new podcast shares the stories of the Brushes with Cancer program to highlight the extraordinary artists and courageous individuals touched by cancer.
A bit of serendipity often occurs when artists are matched with inspiration: the landscape prominently features mountains, and although Courtney hadn’t mentioned it, the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was one of her survival songs.
“I hope this time we have spent communicating has been somewhat healing for you,” Rodriguez told Courtney. I hope you feel honored by what I did and recognized because that’s my intent.”
Courtney replied, “I do. I do feel recognized, and I do feel honored.”
Twist Out Cancer will host its 2025 Brushes With Cancer Art Exhibition and Celebration on Saturday, March 15, at 7 p.m. This year’s program features 20 Inspirations, who were matched with 20 artists from 14 states and two countries. Guests can view the 2025 collection of unique art that reflects personal journeys with cancer and also enjoy food, drinks, music, and dancing. Single tickets to the event start at $125 per person.
How to Help
Become a Brushes with Cancer Winter 2025 sponsor. Purchase a piece of Brushes with Cancer artwork. Become a Twist Out Cancer volunteer or lead an art service project. Donate to Twist Out Cancer here.
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Claire Zulkey is a writer based in Evanston, IL, where she was born and raised. Her writing has appeared in local publications like Block Club Chicago, the Evanston Roundtable and Chicago Magazine as well as national publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic.
