Expressions of a
cancer journey

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Sabrina Parraga has no formal training as an artistic painter. But as a schoolteacher, the Torresdale resident knows a lot about alternative methods of communication. And as a survivor of childhood cancer, she has a powerful story to tell.
That’s why she took brush in hand and submitted an entry in the 2007 Lilly Oncology on Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey International Art Competition.
Parraga’s acrylic painting The Miracle didn’t win. But it certainly made an impact. Last week, the artwork returned home to Northeast Philadelphia as part of an exhibit on view at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The exhibit coincides with National Lung Cancer Awareness Month and with the opening of the third annual Lilly Oncology on Canvas competition.
Entries for the 2008 contest will be accepted through June 30. Anyone affected by cancer may enter, including those diagnosed with the disease and health care professionals, along with the family, friends and caregivers of those diagnosed.
Entrants may submit paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel. Or they may choose to submit photographs or any other type of one-dimensional art. The primary requirement of any entry is that it tells of the artist’s individual journey with cancer.
"You can tell your story (in words), but it’s different when you can share it in a picture," said Parraga, whose painting is one of 75 that will be on display in Fox Chase’s Prevention Pavilion through Nov. 30.
Those 75 were selected from more than 2,000 entries representing 43 countries. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Parraga, a 27-year-old wife and mother, has been cancer-free since age 13. But she still considers her two bouts with leukemia as defining elements of her life. As such, she feels compelled to share her story, a story of strength and hope, with others affected by all forms of the disease.
"Some people feel real alone in their journeys," she said. "But when they see that somebody else had it and is still alive, it gives them hope."
Doctors first diagnosed Parraga with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) at age 4. ALL is a form of blood cancer that originates in bone marrow cells.
Parraga isn’t sure what caused the non-hereditary disease in her, but her family and physicians have speculated that it may have been caused by her mother’s exposure to radiation during the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant disaster in 1979. Parraga’s mom was pregnant with her and living near the Harrisburg-area power plant at the time of the radiation leak.
At first, Parraga felt excessively tired. Family members suspected she had the flu. But within days, the girl couldn’t even walk. Her parents took her to the emergency room. A bone marrow test revealed the cancer.
"It was real bad. It was all throughout my blood," Parraga said. "They said I had a forty percent chance of surviving."
She spent the next two and a half years at Hershey Medical Center undergoing chemotherapy and a myriad of other procedures, including a series of spinal taps and countless blood tests. Much of the time, she was hooked up to IVs. She lost her hair many times due to the chemo.
"I’d be on a drip for two or three days," Parraga said. "They were always taking blood from you and putting stuff in you.
"Maybe once in a while I’d get a small break and go home."
Her biggest challenge was yet to come. When Parraga was 9, the cancer resurfaced. "I thought I was fine, then I started getting back pain," she said. "They did another bone marrow test and said the first time (I was) never cured. (The cancer) was hiding in my spine and then it came out."
In order to combat the relapse, Parraga’s doctors were forced to intensify her treatments compared to her first episode with the disease.
"They had to treat me with the boys’ protocol. It was much stronger medication," she said.
The process lasted three years that time. "Losing my hair was a big thing, because I was at the age when (appearance) is a big thing with girls. But I had to wear a wig and a back brace," she said.
Parraga missed a lot of school during her treatment, but she kept pace with her peers by studying on her own. Not coincidentally, she has become a middle school special education teacher in the Pennsbury School District.
Parraga likes to emphasize self-confidence to her students.
"I try to get kids to be proud of themselves and to feel that they’re able to do things," she said.
Dealing with cancer helped reinforce similar traits in Parraga’s own personality.
"I always say, having leukemia is a part of my life that, it may sound strange, but it benefited me," she said. "It made me more caring and more appreciative of people and of the things that I have.
"I have a husband (Cristian) and a baby (Isabela). We live a full life. We go dancing and visit family."
That’s the primary message of her painting, The Miracle.
Parraga credits her mom, who still volunteers at Hershey Medical Center, with informing her about the Lilly Oncology on Canvas program.
Her biographical painting depicts a bald, teary-eyed child hooked up to an IV and wishing on a dandelion. Over one shoulder hangs the Grim Reaper.
"This sort of portrays my personality. There was a side (of me) that was very dark, depressing and dramatic and hurting," Parraga said.
Yet, over the sick child’s other shoulder, an angelic girl waits, collecting the floating dandelion seeds and granting the sick girl’s wishes.
In a short text that she wrote to accompany the painting, Parraga notes that her guardian angel has not only granted her health, but invaluable wisdom.
"Life is a precious gift from God that can easily be taken away from me at any moment," she wrote. "Therefore, I must enjoy life to the fullest and treasure all the gifts I have … with the utmost respect and care." ••
For information about Lilly Oncology on Canvas, including 2008 contest criteria, call 1-800-734-4131.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com