THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504210233
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Donna Walters of Great Bridge never imagined her love of photography would help her through a serious battle with breast cancer.
Since taking a photography class many years ago at Orlando Junior College in Florida, Walters has taken a camera along on family vacations and gatherings.
``I took the class to see if I enjoyed photography, and I did,'' she said. ``I then started taking photos of everything my daughters did. I always had a loaded camera ready.''
Then, three years ago, Walters was diagnosed as having breast cancer. The emotions she experienced were strong.
``It takes a while to deal with it,'' she said. ``To learn you have breast cancer comes as a shock to you, but we dealt with it.''
She said her camera helped her cope.
Soon after her disease was diagnosed, Walters and her husband visited Williamsburg. As she'd done in the past, she brought her camera along and discovered something helpful.
``I started taking photos of the blooming flowers, the Colonial buildings, the greenery and the beautiful Williamsburg scenery, and I found it helped me take my mind off my cancer,'' she explained. ``Taking pictures became therapy for me.''
Walters explained that taking photographs helped to put her at ease. It reminded her of the peaceful places she visited and how she felt when she took each photo.
``They show the serenity and peace my husband and I found in each of those places,'' she said.
After the cancer diagnosis, she said each photo soon became a very important part of her.
``During those very stressful times I took car rides just to take pictures,'' she said. ``Now, when I look at them it reminds me of the times when I took them. It reminds me of how I felt and the strong emotions I had to overcome.''
In deciding what to send to the Chesapeake General Hospital exhibition, Walters said she laid several photographs out on her kitchen table. She picked her favorites and her family picked the ones they liked best.
``We found out that the ones I picked were the same ones chosen by my family,'' she said. ``We thought that was pretty amazing.''
Walters said the photos were taken in Colonial Williamsburg, at family get-togethers, in the mountains and at the Outer Banks.
``They reminded me of how alive I felt when I visited those places and when I took the photos,'' she added. ``I look at each photo taken during those three years as a kind of milestone. At times when I look at them, I cry.''
Walters said her doctors think they have removed all of the cancer from her body. She has undergone reconstruction surgery and her future looks good.
``It's almost as if it never happened,'' she said. ``Here I am, alive, strong and healthy. The photos made me see the sovereignty of God. Even through the tough times, he was there for me. They show me how far I've now come and they remind me of God's help and blessings, and there was a positive side to all of this.'' MEMO: [For a related story, see page 12 of the Chesapeake Clipper for this
date.]
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DONNA WALTERS
Says photographer Donna Walters about her pictures: ``They show the
serenity and peace my husband and I found in each of those
places.''
Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
``Taking pictures became therapy for me,'' says Donna Walters, who
survived breast cancer.
by CNB