Legacy Lane photography exhibit honors cancer survivors

LAKELAND, Fla. - Five eye-catching photo portraits of cancer survivors aim to inspire hope at the Watson Clinic Cancer & Research Center. 

"I hope when they see that photo that they know that cancer is not the end, that there is life after cancer. There is hope after cancer," Sara Durante said. 

Durante is underwater for her photo, surrounded by an umbilical cord. It's to honor her battle with ovarian cancer, followed by seven rounds of IVF to have her son. 

"I think it just felt powerful seeing how far I'd come in my journey and that my dreams had come true, and now I just got to tell it from the other side," Durante said. 

The backstory:

The project is modeled after a similar exhibition at a Cleveland hospital, but that one features traditional portraits. Photographer Scott Audette had other ideas. 

"For me, it was important to try to tell these stories and create an image that people are going to stop and look at," Audette said. 

The goal being, grab someone's attention and, hopefully, he/she will want to learn more. Each portrait features an information card and a QR code that links to more information. 

What they're saying:

Winter Haven's Heather Specht overcame breast cancer. She is literally holding fire in her portrait. 

 "I have a history in being a character princess. I was a full-time firefighter when all of this began," Specht said. "You could see the actual live fire, my actual old gear. It was special for sure."

She hopes participating in projects like this will help people currently battling cancer and their supporters. 

"I do actually have three friends right now that are going through the exact same thing that I went through. A lot of them are down in the dumps, and I believe doing things like this picture can give people hope that they can actually make it through it," Specht said. "My diagnosis was fatal. I felt like I had just months to live, and now I'm proof that you can actually get through it."

Dig deeper:

Lakeland's Tanisha McLachlan overcame breast cancer. She's in the middle of mud run in her photo, symbolizing something she thought she would never do pre-cancer. 

"I would never have gotten dirty like that, plus on my clothes as well," McLachlan said. "My perspective on life, it made me realize that everything can't be planned how you want it to be, and that you got to take chances and live a little on the edge."

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Doug Smith overcame lung cancer. In his portrait, he's flying a giant paper airplane to show his love for travel and adventure. 

A fellow Doug, Doug Ballard, may have the weirdest photo. He's dressed as a cat, to emphasize nine lives. Ballard overcame lung cancer after overcoming other series of medical ailments. 

What's next:

Legacy Lane is part of the new Watson Clinic Foundation's Art in Medicine program. A grant from the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance helped fund this year's photos. Program Director Tiffany Van Wieren says they plan to add more photos to the project in the future.