HAVERFORD, Pa., Feb. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Living Beyond Breast Cancer has announced the launch of Body & Soul, a new online interactive media experience that will reside within LBBC's award winning website, lbbc.org. Body & Soul online will serve as the online extension of photographer Jean Karotkin's book of the same name.
Rich in visual and emotional content, both the book and website are inspired by the bodies, spirits and stories of women who have been confronted with the physical and psychological challenges of a breast cancer diagnosis. "With Body & Soul online, we're presenting the stories and photographs of these women; a collection that is interactive and captures the individual and universal impact of this disease," says Karotkin.
Many of the women featured in Body & Soul used their diagnosis as an opportunity to reinvent themselves, as was the case with Karotkin when she learned she had breast cancer in 1988. "So, there it was," she remembers. "One day I'm a 38-year-old single woman raising an 11-year-old daughter with a start-up business and the next day I'm a 38-year-old single woman raising an 11-year-old daughter with a start-up business who's just been told she has cancer having to make decisions about treatment, mastectomy and reconstruction surgery."
The idea for Body & Soul 's first incarnation was born from a series of events that happened as Karotkin began her post-diagnosis recovery. "At a point during my treatment, I realized I had to be the best I could be," Karotkin remembers. "I knew what I was feeling and I needed to express it – preferably using photographs as the medium."
When she was thirteen, Karotkin wore a brace to help alleviate her scoliosis. The experience left her feeling "incredibly isolated from the world . It seemed that I was always observing life from the outside looking in, which in retrospect I now have come to be thankful for as it helped develop my eye . During my early years of marriage when my daughter was little, I would experiment with the camera with little confidence that I could actually be a "real" photographer. After my divorce and surgery, I began to take some classes in black and white photography not really having a true sense of direction."
But it was when she came "under the spell" of a New York Times magazine cover that the idea of compiling a book to celebrate and chronicle the beauty, power and spirit of women affected by breast cancer. For two years, Karotkin tried to assemble photographers to partner with her on the project. It was only after being forced into a lengthy recovery period after a fall and at the urging by her sister-in-law, that Karotkin came to realize that "(she) alone would need to make (her) dream come true."
"It wasn't until I began shooting for Body & Soul that I felt I was a true portrait photographer," she reflects. The first edition of Body & Soul was published in 2004.
It was in the Spring of 2010 that Jean Sachs, MSS, MLSP and CEO of Living Beyond Breast Cancer became aware of Karotkin's work when Karotkin donated a number of books to be given away at Yoga on the Steps®, LBBC's signature education and fundraising event. "I was immediately taken with the beauty of the photos and how Jean was able to capture such an honest portrayal of women who had been diagnosed," says Sachs. "The photos resonated so strongly with me because I saw them as a visual representation of LBBC's mission to empower all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. "
Sachs brought the book to the attention of her staff and assigned the task of creating the online Body & Soul experience to Michael J. Formica, MS, MA, EdM, Editor and Editorial Coordinator for LBBC. Formica managed the entire project, helping create a place where he says "the images and stories of these women will be forever preserved . The site's presentation of these women captures a subject that has touched millions of women and their families. The first phase in the creation of Body & Soul online was to establish a digital archive where the stories of the women and Jean's amazing portraits can be viewed by people around the world."
"The second phase Body & Soul online is being outlined now," says Sachs. "Our plan is to create a place where women affected by breast cancer can upload their stories, photos and video clips adding their own unique Body & Soul experiences to help other similarly affected women."
For more information, call Living Beyond Breast Cancer at (610) 645-4567.
Kevin Gianotto
Associate Director, Marketing & Corporate Partnerships
Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC)
354 West Lancaster Avenue, Ste 224, Haverford, PA 19041
(484) 708-1547
(610) 645-4573 (fax)
kevin@lbbc.org
About Living Beyond Breast Cancer
For twenty years, Living Beyond Breast Cancer has been empowering women to live as long as possible with the best quality of life regardless of educational background, social support or financial means. Founded in 1991, LBBC has been committed to providing national educational programs and services that include a website, lbbc.org; a toll-free Survivors' Helpline, (888) 753-LBBC (5222); national conferences; free teleconferences; networking programs; quarterly newsletters; publications for medically underserved women; healthcare-provider trainings; recordings and the Paula A. Seidman Library & Resource Center.
About Jean Karotkin
Jean Karotkin is a nationally recognized Dallas-based photographer whose work has been featured on NBC's Today Show, O, The Oprah Magazine and as part of an exhibit at the Houston Center for Photography. Body & Soul is the first published collection of her photography. For more information on Jean and her photography visit jeankarotkinportraits.com.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/living-beyond-breast-cancer/r/living-beyond-breast-cancer-and-photographer-jean-karotkin-introduce-body---soul-interactive,c9222693
The following files are available for download:
| wkr0001.pdf |