Real stories performed by actors.

Story From Jessica | Dance Performance and Choreography by Cristina Camacho

Real stories performed by actors.

[VOICEOVER]

Performances inspired by real stories of women with metastatic breast cancer, told through artistic expression.

[JESSICA]

Breast cancer has taken so much from me.
My hair. My breasts. My body.

Am I even still sexy after everything I’ve lost?

Sex is not as easy like it once was,
I have no idea how to tell my husband,
I want to be wanted, to be sexy again

But here’s the thing.
People can think what they want, but only I get to say if I am sexy.

A woman can be sexy and not. I am both.

[VOICEOVER]

mBC Unspoken. A voice given. A story heard.

[ON-SCREEN TEXT]

GILEAD and the GILEAD logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.
All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

© 2023 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. US-UNBC-1182 03/23

Listen to Jessica’s Story

Sometimes, the most unspoken things are said without words. But if you’re someone who likes to hear it all, listen to the full audio that inspired this dance performance.

Story read by Minji Chang

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[JESSICA]

The number one thing about me, I like to have fun. I’m spontaneous. I like to have sex in the afternoon, just because.

My husband, not so much. I love him, but come on--take me on the kitchen table when Josie’s napping, toss me around a little. But now with the treatments, that’s not going to happen...

My breast cancer has taken so much from me. I’m in pain, constantly tired. My body is not what it was. I have scars, and reconstruction can only do so much. Things are drier down there, and sex hurts.

And even when we can get intimate--it’s awkward. I’m self-conscious, especially ever since I lost my hair to chemo. I keep thinking...I must look like an old bald man when I’m in bed with him. Sexy, right?

Can’t he just look past the scars and the hair loss and find other pretty things about me? My eyes. My laugh. The way I snore so hard after chemo. See—a lot of hot stuff left!

He’s never come to a chemo infusion. Not one. Not because he didn’t want to, but because I was like, "I don’t need you there. I have my friends." Honestly, I didn’t want him to see me like that, to have that memory.

So I kinda set it up that way. But now he can’t understand why I’m so worn out all the time. Maybe if he had actually been there to see what I was going through, he would understand. We’d be closer.

I’m the one in our marriage who has to start the hard conversations. It’s up to me to fix things. I’ll invite him to my next chemo session, try to make him understand. I know it’ll be hard, and I won’t lie—I wonder all the time how people make it through this. The only thing I know how to do is take it all one day at a time.

 
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