Between You & Me


2020 - ongoing

   Growing up, cancer was always been a common dialogue in my home. After my dad passed, I never imagined it would touch my life so closely again. But life moves in unpredictable ways. Picture this: you’ve just graduated high school, standing at the edge of adulthood - eager to discover who you’re becoming, excited for the change ahead. And then, without warning, everything shifts. A small lump on your chest, something that seems like nothing more than an angry muscle, suddenly becomes a diagnosis. Cancer. Lymphoma. But this time, it isn’t me - it’s my best friend, my partner in crime, my sister.
   What I remember most are her eyes. Eyes far too young for the weight they were asked to carry, too young to confront decisions no one at that age should have to make. Cancer didn’t just enter her world; it seeped into mine too.. quietly, insistently, reshaping everything around us. Her fierce determination became our anchor. What now feels like a distant, almost surreal memory was once the daily reality of two twenty-year-old girls simply trying to navigate life, side by side, together.

This project is dedicated to raising awareness around teenage and young adult cancer. By sharing the real faces and stories of resilience, I hope it encourages people to pause, reflect, and understand the weight of what so many endure. Thank you, truly, to everyone I’ve been able to meet and connect with through this work.

*All images were shot on 35mm film.
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© giuuuliag 2025