Sandra Albernoz remembers hearing those words in her own inner voice during a conversation with God. After years of surgeries and treatment for pseudomyxoma peritonei and adenocarcinoma, she was angry. That question gave her a different place to begin.

On the Twist Out Cancer Podcast, Sandra and artist Dr. Kim D. Harris talk about what cancer asked of them, what they found in making art, and why it matters to have someone listen closely to your story.

Finding a place to create and connect

During the pandemic, Sandra started a group where people could share what they were going through and exchange tools that helped them cope. What began as a space for emotional growth became a community of nearly 90 people. Sandra describes them as family.

She also found a practice of her own in acrylic pouring and dotting mandalas. Making art gave her time to be with herself and feel connected to God.

“Art has been one of my biggest tools for me to heal,” Sandra says.

Listening as an artist

When Dr. Kim D. Harris talks about her experience with breast cancer, she remembers what it was like to go through it as a single mother raising four children. She speaks candidly about how traumatic that period was and how it shaped her decision to become a Brushes with Cancer Artist.

Brushes with Cancer pairs people touched by cancer, whom we call Inspirations, with Artists who create original work in response to their stories. Sandra talks about what it feels like to make something for herself. Kim reflects on the responsibility of making something in response to another person’s experience. The episode also touches on the Brushes with Cancer exhibition at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

Listen to the full episode of the Twist Out Cancer Podcast to hear Sandra and Kim tell their stories in their own words.