The Storyboard Project is the center hub of the BHE program.
Students interviewed Roswell Park cancer survivors, patients and associates who have gone through the cancer journey. Afterward, students built storyboards of what they heard, interpreted, and learned, assisting them in gaining confidence by conducting difficult interviews and learning to lend compassion, curiosity, and respect. Students were prepared to ask the right questions during their interviews to understand what the cancer survivor or patient has gone through, while also utilizing the emotional wheel in creating and completing their storyboards. They presented their final products to the group, survivors, and Roswell Park staff at the closing ceremony.
Group One
Interview with Annemarie Block & Sara Sade
Myra Nelson, Mansurin Reem, Aliya Shaale, Muneera Alkadi, Chrismarie Benitez, Charity Hosler, London Hastings
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
We chose to use lots of symbolism to represent the story of our interviewee. She had gone through cancer 4 times and was able to fight it till its end. She had tumors all over her body including in her brain which we represented with an arm with gems as well as a skull with exposed brain as she was left with a dent in her head. She continued to fight for those whom she loved. One of the things that kept her fighting was a list of Ten reasons that she had to live for. This included things such as her daughters graduating, getting married, buying their first homes and spending a certain anniversary with her husband. Every time she crossed something off her list, she would add a new thing so she would always have Ten reasons to fight and stay alive. She is now cancer free and continues to update this list as it is a good way to put life into perspective. The scroll in the center represents her list as she continued to fight. It is so intriguing to see how having something to live for will completely change someone’s perspective. She experienced confusion and was not able to express her thoughts, while she had her tumor. Which we represented by a tie. When asked what it was she had called it a Q-Tip or a ladder as she couldn’t discern what it was. It shows how different life can be to those who have cancer and how confusing and frustrating life can become as a cancer patient. The windmill represents the perseverance she had in a harsh environment, she had a time frame of 10 months to life and absolutely surpassed this goal based on new trials she was able to try during her time at Roswell. The sun represents her light shining through as she fought and found reasons to get through the day. Despite her long years of treatment, she has made it through and can now live her life serving other patients who are struggling with the same things as she is.
Group Two
Interview with Diane Morgante & Carl Borowicz
Jakima Banks, Santhana Sivaselvan, Diamond Bunch, Sanjidah Shahid, Janssen Batai, Mia Yacobucci, Melianis Collazo Castillo
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
Our mission statement was to represent a cancer patient's journey. Our storyboard illustrates interviewee’s journey throughout having cancer and now being cancer-free. The most prominent element from our storyboard is the white bike path, as the path continues it gets brighter and smoother showing how his journey got easier and better as it continued. This idea is also shown through the background, as the path makes it way up the canvas the background get brighter showing how his path became more positive and brighter. We decided to make a bike path because of his love for biking and love for nature. The quote shown on the top of the path, “You have to play the cards you’re dealt” was something he repeatedly said during our interview with him, and it left a lasting impression. It means to keep moving forward with your life no matter what happens. The images we added include electrical wires, butterflies, food, biking and certain words like father, nature and electrician. All these images reflect his life. He was an electrician, father and grandfather. He also had a love for biking and cooking. Our interviewee always had a positive attitude and outlook on life. His positivity and story showed us to always look forward and persevere.
Group Three
Interview with Kaitlin Chidester & Elizabeth Kurtz
Maimuna Mim, Mang Dim, Mary Dolan, Rachel Puvendran, Clara Weigel, Ruthanne Schurr
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
We decided to build this storyboard based off of a marriage between the two interviews we had the privilege of experiencing. Our first interviewee is a registered nurse here at Roswell Park where she has seen first hand what we tried to portray in our storyboard: the duality of being a cancer patient. While our first interviewee is a health worker, our second is a survivor of bladder cancer. She explained to us not only her complicated journey, enduring at least six different tumors in her bladder, but also how she felt. She stated that she would be rich if she had a penny for everytime someone came up to her and asked her how she was doing. She emphasized that once she revealed her diagnosis, she was no longer seen as a human being, only as a cancer patient. In today's society cancer has a wide stereotype, to which people often associate with death. Having cancer can be extremely draining and becomes an anchor that may weigh you down from everyday life. However, it does not have to be dehumanizing. Our patient interviewee was faced with being viewed solely as someone with cancer instead of the person she was before. Our nurse interviewee sees this behavior towards patients throughout the hospital. Our storyboard represents people's views on cancer patients. The green and yellow side represents naturalness, growth, beauty, and peacefulness. The images exhibit powerful words and images that also represent, for example, growth and respect. This side of the storyboard also possesses an eye that sees our interviewee for who she is. While the blue and gray side represents sadness, loneliness, and isolation. Images that tell the viewer she feels dissociated, lost, and even seen as a monster whom others are scared of saying the wrong thing to. Along with an eye that sees our interviewee only for her cancer.
Group Four
Interview with Richard Satterwhite & Kaitlin Chidester
Etienne Bohlen, Vincent Lodovico, Madilyn Mazzei, Savannah Mckay, Elle Soltiz, Afsheen Hafiz
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
During our interviews we interviewed Richard Satterwhite and Kaitlin Chidester both participants had very different stories however their similarities were remarkable. Our storyboard is a collage of each of their stories and the journey that each of them took to get here at Roswell. Down the middle of the board, we have a road to represent the journey each of them took. For Mr. Satterwhite, it starts with his diagnosis and down the road, it turns into his recovery and all the other great things that Mr. Satterwhite has achieved. The big hand print represents Mr. Satterwhite’s 5 opinions of the 5 hospitals he visited once diagnosed with cancer, two good three bad, which lead him to Roswell. During his life, Mr. Satterwhite told us about his favorite first camera, as well as his passion for theater and music. The hope ribbon in the middle is the universal cancer awareness symbol. We put it in the middle of the road between these two interviewees because they each have a passion for the better of those who have been diagnosed with cancer. On Mrs. Chidester's side, it shows the progression of her career and all the things she has accomplished prior to working at Roswell. The plants and butterflies represent her love for all people and things. The houses represent the mission trips she has been on to help those in other areas that are homeless. We added the “magic in the mix” because she told us about her belief in medical miracles and how they can happen no matter how critical the situation may be.
Group Five
Interview with Paul Conibear & Annemarie Block
Jessica Dennehy, Aaron Schreck, Zoe Killock, Rachael Krell, Eric Neff, Ismail Masoodi, Biruk Fantu
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
The mission statement of this piece was to accurately reflect the struggle and nature that our interviewed cancer survivor faced during his journey with prostate cancer. The main emphasis of the piece is the glaringly large hourglass - a symbol not of time running out, but the value of how you spend it. An epiphany that our survivor experienced during his journey with prostate cancer was that the value of time is how you spend it, so live life to the fullest. The separation of the hourglass and its contents is a portrayal of how cancer affected our patient, both mentally and physically. The top half is composed of elements symbolizing the physical aspects: physical activity, strength, sports…all elements that were huge parts of his life that were impacted when he underwent his cancer treatment and recovery. The background notes his livelihood. Beyond work, a large part of his life revolved around officiating sports, a hobby which he loved. In these ways, cancer changed both his ability to carry out the things he loved and his perspective on them. The bottom half represents the mental aspect, thankfully our survivor was able to be a part of a loving and caring support system, including his work, his community, and his loved ones. Even so, he constantly referred to his mental struggles while experiencing cancer: that no matter how difficult physical rehab was for him, what was going on in his head was harder. His perspective, one we hope is reflected in the piece, is that strength of the mind and body is an essential piece of who we are as people - and cancer impacts all aspects of it. The background is of a library - a personal favorite analogy of his which he uses while coaching. We hope the effort put in by the group is portrayed in the piece.
Group Six
Interview with Elizabeth Kurtz & Paul Conibear
Isabella Devaprasad, Reagan Peiper, Clare Daniels, Charlotte Stoos, Ashmika Hait, Willa Alessi, Austin Carney
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
We created this storyboard to encapsulate the complex journey and vast emotions attributed to the cancer experience. We tried to highlight the immense mental struggles in tandem with the physical trials that cancer patients continue to face. The man on the boat represents one of our interviewees and his struggle to remain afloat during a period where the heaviness of life threatens to way him down. This brings us to the anchor; a metaphor for the grief and anger that comes from a cancer diagnosis and its ability to weigh the patient down. The mountains represent the rocky journey that cancer patients face, and the up’s and down’s of life post diagnosis. The dove–a universal symbol of hope–flying across the gradient of colors amidst the sky-line reflects the slow change of emotions throughout the cancer journey. The dark blue represents depression and vulnerability that the patient may first experience. Then, the sky fades to pink to reflect the fear and anxiety that comes from the immense information and staggering statistics revealed about the disease. After, we reach the red; a metaphor for the bitterness and frustration that accompany thoughts of “Why Me?”. Eventually, the dove arrives which reflects the optimism in the orange showing the optimism that develops as signs of health begin to reveal themselves. Finally, the dove reaches the sun itself, showing the joy that come’s with the ring of the bell, and the realization that the patient is cancer-free.
Group Seven
Interview with Jim Sniadecki & Diane Morgante
Quinn Phillips, Neil Vijay, Farhan Howlader, Devin Becker, Madison Steinert, Akshay Lakshman
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
The purpose of our storyboard was to accurately convey the emotions of cancer patients the best way we can. We worked diligently to project the dispersed and spattered feelings that someone going through something like cancer experiences. It is not an organized and calm journey. It is very disorderly, with jumbled emotions, and we tried our hardest to empathize this unimaginable circumstance with a scattered storyboard. At the bottom of our storyboard, there is a beach full of starfish. This represents an impactful story from a cancer patient we interviewed. The story explains how a girl was walking along a beach and found hundreds of starfish washed upon the shore. The little girl began throwing the starfish back into the water. An old man walked up to her and asked her what she was doing. She said how she was putting the starfish back in the water to save them. The old man explained how there were too many starfish to save them all, so there was no point. As the girl threw one starfish into the water, she said, “At least I made a difference in this one’s life.” This shows the thoughtfulness and consideration for every single person. You can change the world by making a difference in at least one person’s life. There is an orange mountain spanning across the storyboard. It portrays how cancer patients follow a rough and jagged journey. As they trek this mountainous journey, they courageously remain positive and optimistic. This is the reason we used orange for the mountain, as it shows joy and happiness through a hazardous voyage. The sponges in the sky also have a significant meaning. A patient described how they felt as a sponge. The sponges depict how people with cancer have many emotions that they absorb. This is represented with the soaked sponge on the right. Eventually, the emotions begin to leak, showing the release of welled up emotions. This is shown by the sponge on the left. The house we have on our storyboard is from the movie “Up”. While going through cancer, people tend to stick close to the things that make them happy and bring them joy. Movies were something that was brought up as a coping mechanism throughout cancer patients. Under the flying house are the words “don’t be a downer”. This quote came from a surviving breast cancer patient who looked for happiness and bliss throughout his life despite the struggles he was going through. The house, from the movie “Up”, is going upward away from the statement to symbolize that you should always have hope and not be a downer. The butterflies represent remaining hopeful, and the dove illustrates peacefulness. The cancer patients we interviewed spoke about the food they ate as they progressed through their journeys. The pizza characterizes the passion for food that assisted in keeping people moving forward. Finally, the turkey symbolizes the gratefulness and thankfulness. A piece of advice from someone with cancer was “be grateful” and it really resonated with our group.
Group Eight
Interview with Carl Borowicz & Richard Satterwhite
Jordyn Marcus, Malak Abdelhaq, Nicolle Perdomo, Vipanchika Satheeshkumar, Ailin Testillano, Cecilia Gullo, Syed Qadri
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2024
Cancer is a transformative experience. The disease itself has stages, but the impacts it has on emotions can also be distinguished. Moving from the bottom to the top of our painting, our mission was to tell the story of this emotional progression. Initially, the diagnosis of cancer is a terrifying, life-altering experience. Life is one long journey, and the road represents the course of life leading up to cancer. The journey of cancer is like a tree. The roots are the initial fears, worries, and hopeless feelings when you are diagnosed. Some of these anxieties are diminished with support from family, inner strength, and support. All of these factors represent cards you are dealt with in life. Sometimes you are dealt a bad hand, as in cancer. We chose to rip the card representative of cancer to symbolize the disease being overcome through treatment and fighting hard. The conjunction of support and treatment makes up the trunk of the tree. The trunk then blossoms and branches outward. Many people who have overcome cancer want to reach out and share their stories and knowledge they gain from the experience. You learn to appreciate the small things in life and are aware of the limited time you are given; this is represented by the clock. In our interview a cancer survivor encouraged us to “stop and smell the roses,” ushering us to seize opportunities and appreciate every aspect of life. Especially those that are overlooked or taken for granted. The roses and clock together create a sun which shines over the whole journey. The positivity is fighting against all of the negative experiences. Cancer is one of the hardest cards to be dealt. We found this entire process inspiring. Those we interviewed were able to seek out so much positivity and insight from their experience.