Her, Too: Our Visual Dialogue on Confronting Cancer as a Family

Unable to find imagery that was relatable and authentic about a young family navigating cancer, photographers Anna and Jordan Rathkopf turned the camera on each other and themselves after Anna’s diagnosis at the age of 37 with an aggressive form of breast cancer. HER2 is an ongoing visual conversation told through the utterly unique dual perspective of the experience as a husband- and-wife team, showing both the ways in which there is a deep bond in shared survival while also highlighting their parallel, isolated traumas amidst layers of grief and joy.

The Rathkopfs’ project includes intimate photographs taken at home, in hospital settings, and with their son, providing a raw look at how a chronic serious diagnosis impacts every aspect of life - relationships, parenting, marriage, work and childhood. These images offer a fuller picture of the emotional and daily realities of illness, from the perspective of the diagnosed, the caregiver and the child, inviting viewers to witness and understand the complexity of survivorship, vulnerability, and resilience.

Anna Rathkopf was raised in Prague, where she learned photography from her uncle, a renowned Eastern European photographer. She has a Masters in Jewish Studies from the Charles University of Prague in the Czech Republic.

Jordan Rathkopf grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and holds a BA in Music Performance and Composition from Bard College in Annandale-On-Hudson, NY.