Chemotherapy-induced hair loss is a devastating event. However, it may hold particular relevance for Black women for whom hair holds incredible historical, political, and sociocultural significance. Black women are also more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer subtypes necessitating chemotherapy, carrying a 40% increased risk of dying from breast cancer.

‘Redefining the “crown”: Approaching chemotherapy‐induced alopecia among Black patients with breast cancer’ started as a manuscript published in the scientific journal Cancer. But the work could not stop there. “Redefining the Crown” then metamorphosed into a photoessay project aimed at exploring the breast cancer journeys of six Black women and their experiences with hair loss due to chemotherapy.

While the goal is to illuminate the unique stories of Black women who are affected uncommonly by this common disease, the project is also a call to action regarding the disproportionate breast cancer-related mortality facing Black women.

Photography courtesy of Joshua Terrell