Norway Created A Statue Of A Woman With Metastatic Breast Cancer—And Its Message Still Resonates Years Later

“Meet Cecilie — the world’s first statue of a woman living with incurable breast cancer. A powerful piece of public art in Norway,” the Colors of Norway account wrote alongside a video compilation of the statue.

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“A tribute to strength, dignity, and the fight that continues beyond the diagnosis,” words overlaying the footage read, as an emotional melody plays on. “It depicts Cecilie Flatval, a mother of three, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 42.”

The footage shows Cecilie from multiple angles, standing with her hands folded behind her back, and her bare chest revealing she has only one remaining breast.

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A post shared by Colors of Norway 🇳🇴 (@colors_of_norway)

Brystkreftforeningen, a Norwegian breast cancer patient organization established in 1992 that provides support to patients and their loved ones while funding research initiatives, says the statue was created to bring greater awareness, compassion, and understanding to a group that is often overlooked amid the focus on breast cancer survival.

“The sculpture will be a meeting point and symbol for everyone affected by breast cancer, and simultaneously, it will also portray mother of three, Cecilie,” the organization explains on it’s website.

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Cecilie Flatval ultimately passed away in April 2023, after having the opportunity to see the statue, documentary film created on the documentary, and book created in her honor, Brystkreftforeningen says.

Flatval previously expressed her gratitude in the project, and offered insight into it’s meaning. She explained, “For my loved ones, the statue will mean having a place to go. Like a memorial site. Although I like to focus on living here and now, death will come. The statue will hopefully be able to give value to others. An opportunity to talk about a difficult topic.

“What are we seeing? Me, partly undressed. Which is not entirely uncommon. But at the same time, we see something else. Behind this statue, which represents metastatic breast cancer, we find women of all ages, in different family situations, ethnicities and social backgrounds.”

She continued, “We all show people pieces of who we are, but not everything, and with this project I show a piece of who I am and my values. Especially to my kids who live with a mother with cancer. As a mom I want to be there when my children need me. But I am not always going to be able to be here to tell them that everything will work out. Telling them it’s going to be fine.

“To a large group of patients, mothers, and relatives: We are only here while we are here, and the rest is history. Just like this project. A statue, a memory, an opportunity for reflection. Part of me as a metastatic breast cancer patient. Part of me as an ordinary woman. The project gives me an opportunity to help make the patient group with metastatic breast cancer visible. We are so much more than just a patient group. This is maybe the most important part about the statue.”

The statue was gifted by Eiendomsspar AS, a Norwegian real estate investment and development company, to the Norwegian Breast Cancer Society, with support from Pfizer Norway.

The bronze sculpture was created by Håkon Anton Fagerås, a Norwegian artist, who admitted it was “not easy sculpture to make.”

Around the time of the unveiling, Fagerås took to social media to say he was “deeply grateful for this experience,” sharing that a “beautiful 9 minute documentary about this project has been made.”

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A post shared by Håkon Anton Fagerås (@fageras_sculpture)

Fagerås also shared in a statement, as per Brystkreftforeningen, “I wished to invent as little as possible; just to look at her and reproduce what I saw. The movement shows that not only is she comfortable –  most of all, I think the pose conveys strength.

“It defies the uncertainty and shows her enormous courage in coming to terms with the disease to everyone who visit the statue. The task was challenging but meaningful. Cecilie is strong despite the situation and brave in the face of the unknown. In that courage, there is hope.”

WATCH: Women Creating a Great Life After Breast Cancer

What You Need to Know About Survivorship

Whether you’re beginning your journey into survivorship or are a seasoned survivor, you’ll quickly learn that it’s a term with many layers. At its simplest, ‘survivorship’ signifies the state of living beyond a challenging event or diagnosis, such as cancer. More specifically, it marks the period after treatment where a patient goes from merely surviving to thriving, as they navigate their newfound lease on life.

It’s important to remember that survivorship isn’t just an end state – it’s a continuous journey. It begins the moment a person is diagnosed with a significant health condition and continues throughout their life. You might hear people say things like, “from the moment of diagnosis, you become a survivor.”

It’s a powerful sentiment that reflects the courage and resilience involved in battling a serious illness.

Being a survivor also means redefining your life while coping with the aftermath of disease and its treatment. This phase might include the challenge of dealing with physical and emotional changes, attending regular check-ups, the fear of recurrence, or the need for long-term medication. Despite these hurdles, many survivors find unique strength, growth, and transformation during this time.

Survivorship is much more than just the absence of disease—it’s a new stage of life, a rite of passage. Your journey might not have been one you would have chosen, but through it, you’ll uncover a greater understanding of yourself and what you’re capable of. Each person’s survivorship journey is unique, and how you choose to travel is entirely up to you.

Remember—navigating this new terrain called ‘Survivorship’. It might be challenging, but remember, you’re not alone. There are ample resources and support systems designed to help you along the way.

Continued Medical Care

Don’t lose sight of the importance of continued medical care – always keep your follow-up appointments and adhere to any healthcare recommendations.

Remember, embracing these coping strategies can help you navigate your way into survivorship with greater ease and renewed energy. Just remember – slow and steady wins the race! You’ve overcome huge hurdles, it’s okay to take this new stage of your life at your own pace.

Resilient learning to overcome any obstacle

Additionally, health checkups are an integral part of maintaining wellness and spotting potential health issues early. This holds true for everyone, but even more so for a person who’s in the throes of survivorship.

One of the main reasons you’ll want to maintain routine health checks is to monitor for recurrence. While the hope is always for complete recovery, there’s a possibility of the disease returning—even with successful treatment. Regular checkups allow you to keep a vigilant eye on the situation, leading to early detection and treatment if any problem emerges.

Metastatic Breast Cancer and How It’s Treated

Breast cancer spreads through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The blood carries cancer cells to different body parts, where they grow as new tumors.

Once breast cancer spreads, the cells may continue to grow slowly or stop growing and stay at equilibrium.

“Metastatic breast cancer is a treatable disease,” explains Dr. Kenneth D. Miller, medical oncologist at the Alvin & Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

“Fortunately, we have so many new treatments for women with recurrent breast cancer and for many women who look at this as a chronic disease that they can live with often for many years.”

When Breast Cancer Spreads to the Bones

Breast cancer is sometimes classified as either local, regional, or distant.

• Local: Cancer is located in the breast and has not spread
• Regional: Cancer spreads from the breast to nearby lymph nodes
• Distant: Cancer spreads to distant parts of the body, including bones, liver, lungs, and/or brain

Treatment for metastatic breast cancer focuses on decreasing the spread of cancer cells, as well as relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.

Women with HER2-positive breast cancer, meaning they have high levels of a protein called HER2 on the surface of their cancer cells, targeted treatments are available. The drugs trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) have transformed the outlook for some women with late-stage breast cancers. These therapies, which are often combined with chemo, are very effective at controlling breast cancer once it has spread.

Another notable treatment is for triple-negative breast cancer. This has historically been one of the most aggressive and most challenging to treat forms of the disease because it lacks any of the main drivers of breast cancer, the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptor, and it doesn’t respond to treatments that target these receptors.

Now, in addition to chemotherapy, immunotherapy has been approved to treat triple-negative breast cancer.

The Outlook for Immunotherapy Treatment

Breast cancer that has spread to the bone, the cancer is often hormone receptor-positive, according to SurvivorNet experts. Women may think when this happens, they need aggressive chemotherapy. However, in most instances of hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer to the bone, the first line of attack is hormone therapy.

Hormone therapies are often combined with other medications to improve their efficacy. For example, CD4/CD6 inhibitors are a type of oral medication that is sometimes combined with hormonal therapies to help shrink breast cancers.

Breast Cancer Screenings

Mammograms are used to screen for breast cancer. Women who haven’t gone through menopause are typically encouraged to get a mammogram annually between the ages of 45 and 54. If you have experienced menopause, you can get a mammogram every two years.

However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends women begin screening for breast cancer at age 40. Women should talk with their doctor to learn about their cancer risk and assess when a good time is to start annual mammograms.

WATCH: Mammograms Are Still the Best Tool for Detecting Breast Cancer

“We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives,” Dr. Connie Lehman, a professor at Harvard Medical School, told SurvivorNet.

Suppose you fit into the high-risk category for breast cancer, meaning a close family relative has been diagnosed. People at higher risk may have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation or have had radiation to the chest area when they were young. In cases like this, people in the high-risk category should begin annual mammograms at 30 years old.

Coping With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

If you are facing a breast cancer diagnosis, your emotions are likely to run high, which is completely normal. Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik says emotions are often fluid when coping with a diagnosis.

“The patient or person going through the stressful event should accept that emotions will be fluid. You may feel fine one day and then feel a massive wave of stress the next. It’s also important for those you look to for support, whether that’s a therapist, friends, family, or both, to understand the fluidity of stress-related emotions,” Dr. Plutchik said.

If a stressful event affects how you think and feel, it may be time to seek mental health treatment. This could mean traditional talk therapy, medication, changing lifestyle habits (like exercise and diet), seeking a support group, or many other approaches.

Women needing a little extra help coping with a breast cancer diagnosis should consider the following.

• Let your family and close friends know, and let them help. So many cancer survivors tell us they want and need support but are often too preoccupied to make specific requests. Urge those close to you to jump in with whatever practical help they can offer.
• Keep a journal. It can be highly cathartic to let those feelings loose on paper. Grab a pen and a lovely journal and chronicle your thoughts throughout the day.
• Join a cancer support group. Groups are available in nearly every community and offer opportunities to connect with others going through a similar journey. You’ll learn constructive insight from others who can tell you what to expect and how to stay strong on tough days.
• Consider seeing a therapist. Ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist so you can discuss your fears and concerns in a safe space. Often, vocalizing your thoughts and feelings rather than internalizing them can provide relief.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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