A Derry woman who has beaten breast cancer twice wants local women who have also survived the disease to take part in a topless photoshoot.
Michelle McLaren, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 25 in September 2007.
The disease then returned when she was 31 in 2013.
She has now beaten the disease twice and has the scars to prove it.
She is proud of her battle scars and is urging other local women who have come through the same arduous journey to be equally proud of their bodies.
Michelle said she got the idea when she saw a photograph of a group of women who had gone through mastectomies posing topless (pictured above).
She said it made her want to do something similar with women from Derry.
The photo that prompted Michelle’s idea was the #showyourstrap vs #showyourscar initiative.
An online support group in England called Flat Friends teamed up with a British newspaper to mount a campaign to show their scars in response to the Marks & Spencer campaign that urged women to post photos of themselves showing their bra straps on Twitter.
The women felt this was insensitive and felt that a campaign to show real women bearing their mastectomy scars with pride was much more apt.
Michelle said: “When I saw the picture of all those topless women, I thought I know a lot of amazing women that have survived breast cancer and have the scars to show it that I would like to get together to do something like this.
“Even if this picture prompts one woman to check herself and it raises awareness, it’s worth it.
“I really hope women will be interested and get involved, it’s an amazing way to raise awareness and to celebrate being a survivor.”
If you are interested in taking part in the campaign and photoshoot, you can contact Michelle on 02871 414004.
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