Redefining the Crown: The voices of Black breast cancer survivors by Versha Pleasant, M.D., M.P.H., tells the personal experiences of six Black breast cancer survivors with respect to hair loss. Written quotes accompany audio recordings of Anna Chatman, Felecia McDaniel, Shantell Elaine McCoy, Tamara Lynn Myles, Tanisha Kennedy, and Veleria Banks giving their testimony. The word crown in Black culture is a symbol of identity and cultural pride. These women take you through their journeys of being diagnosed, their hair loss, personal narratives detailing the physical and emotional pain of surgery, and pain from various treatments.
Each woman describes how the hair loss impacted how she viewed herself, and how others viewed her. However, they have come to find new forms of empowerment in their renewed states of being post-diagnosis as survivors. The author coins the term "invisible crowns" that they choose to wear with intention: gratitude, adaptivity, hope, thankfulness, faith, and resilience. Read the full article on Michigan Medicine's website.
Redefining the Crown: The voices of Black breast cancer survivors article was part of a bigger project called the Redefining the Crown Project by Versha Pleasant, M.D., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, with grant funding from the U-M Institute for Research on Women and Gender. The project was completed with help from Research Coordinator Jordyn Boggan; Physician Assistant Megan Williams-Morad; and Ava Purkiss, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, of Women’s and Gender Studies, and of American Culture.
