If you or someone you know would like to participate in please write to us at info@mamorial.org. Give us your name, phone number, email and mailing address.

After the concept was born, artist Mary Ellen Scherl has spent 3 months contacting breast cancer survivors through email outreach and personal referrals. One by one she has sent mold-making kits to women around the country. In return she received wonderful and powerful responses – women (and men) willing to participate, and to share their poetry, prose and sentiments. Each individual who submits a mold is asked to title the piece, and many offer their own name. One woman expressed herself by titling her breast "Terrain of Trauma," another simply drew a happy heart on her cast.

Once the impression/mold is ready, the participant sends her mold back to the artist. Return postage is included in the kit. The participants are not required to pay for any part of the process. Their vital contribution is sharing their experience.

The mold is then turned into a life-size cast of their breast, made in a resin that closely matches the skin tone of the participant. It then becomes part of the traveling art installation.

"I have the BrCa1genetic mutation, otherwise known as the "breast cancer gene." An oncology surgeon told me that I have an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer in my lifetime, and I am also at high risk for ovarian cancer. I have scheduled a hysterectomy and a bi-lateral mastectomy to lower my risk. At age 41, I am worried about going through menopause, developing osteoporosis and getting old before my time. I am also worried about having both of my breasts removed. I was so thrilled when I heard about this project. It gives me great comfort to know that although I can't have them anymore; my breasts will be somewhere, intact. It is cathartic for me to tell my story."
-Anonymous, one month before surgery

"Thank you. This is a gift to us all."
-Susie Firestone, breast cancer survivor