Beth Whaanga nominated for the 2014 Pride of Australia medal for care and compassion after online cancer awareness campaign
SHEDDING her clothes on Facebook cost this mum of four 103 of her Facebook ‘friends’. But then her amazing message went viral.
Pride of Australia
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SHEDDING her clothes to reveal her scarred body, Beth Whaanga cast off the taboos about cancer.
The Brisbane mother of four made global headlines in February when, after undergoing a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, she bared her altered body on social media.
Although 103 of her Facebook ‘friends’ de-friended her out of disapproval, the stark, black-and-white images went viral.
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Ms Whaanga, 33, has been nominated for the 2014 Pride of Australia medal in the category of care and compassion, which recognises a member of the health professions who has made a significant improvement to the lives of those around them.
The registered nurse, who had the BRCA2 mutation, said she wanted to push the message that cancer does not discriminate.
“Age, gender, race has nothing to do with cancer, and I personally want people to participate in screening,” she said.
“I kind of also wanted to show people that, just because I’ve got these scars, I’m still OK with myself.”
Within days of the images going viral, Ms Whaanga established the ‘Under the Red Dress Project’ with her friend and photographer Nadia Masot, to raise awareness and redefine the meaning of beauty.
The pair are currently organising and photographing 50 cancer survivors for a book.
“We put out an international call for people who wanted to contribute, and we literally had thousands of people email us, asking to be part of it,” she said.
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