So there are those moments that we all have, we have these events that occur in our lives when something happens and it moves you in a different direction. It’s very real. There’s no bullshit. It’s just the essence of our lives, and it hits every dimension of it, right? Life, death, religion, non-religion, loss, family. Everything is compressed into that space, that little moment of, “I’m talking about my life here now. And I’m losing everything. And what does that mean?
Dr. Michael Prados, Neuro-Oncologist
By the time I met Pete Blanco and his wife Tia in January of 2011 at their home in Marin County, California, Pete had been living for over five years with the diagnosis of brain cancer. I was introduced to Pete by his doctor, Michael Prados, with the idea that I would work on a different kind of documentary project about brain cancer. Mike asked me to work on “a project about life, to try to show in photographs what it means for patients to live their lives, what it means to be human.” I photographed Pete and another patient, Kate Burke. Pete died in October of 2013. Here is a photo-essay about Pete, Tia, and their daughters Ramona and Veronica from the time I was privileged to share with them.
