The story of cancer patient Heather and the healing power of art

For Heather Mercer, it started as an artistic ‘doodle’ on a page while in one of her darkest hours at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside as a cancer patient - and has led to her becoming a professional artist with solo exhibitions and paintings hanging in the hospital where she was treated.

In November 2022, Heather, a career education professional, was facing the demons from within after being diagnosed with advanced metastatic breast cancer. She had confronted those demons 12 years previously, when first diagnosed with breast cancer.

But the 2022 diagnosis left her vulnerable and in complete shock as she navigated almost a week in St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside undergoing scans, biopsies and the start of treatment with medical oncologist Dr Rick Abraham.

Heather Mercer with her artwork that is now being displayed at St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside

“I was all scrambled and not in a good headspace and a St Vincent’s Private Hospital volunteer visited me in the ward with the ‘Art Trolley’ (a St Vincent’s initiative which provides opportunities for patients to participate in visual arts-making in their rooms and on the wards),” says Heather.

“The St Vincent’s volunteer was delightful and compassionate with me and offered to leave me a simple water colours paint pack. I must admit I wasn’t too interested at the time given my state of emotional turmoil but the seed had been planted. I started with a simple art doodle and, over the next month, once I got home, I had this compelling feeling that I needed to start painting for real.

“I had done an art subject in high school but I was very self-critical and in my teens, I just thought I was rubbish at art and I didn’t really paint beyond high school. I dabbled in art journalling at one stage, but after my diagnosis I found an art teacher who initially set me a 30-day art challenge to paint something every single day.

“After that, the art genie was out of the bottle and there was no putting it back – which has been a great thing for me. I started just painting still life which ‘felt safe’ although I hesitated to get more adventurous initially as I didn’t think I would be any good at more challenging subjects such as landscapes.”

Heather’s treatment at that stage involved radiation therapy and oral therapy including a new drug treatment that stopped the cancer from replicating and spreading.

Although there’s no cure to her terminal cancer, she said the side effects of her treatment weren’t overly debilitating and still allowed her to paint and to travel throughout parts of regional Australia and to be inspired to paint in stunning natural locations such as the Blue Mountains, NSW and in the Margaret River south of Perth.

“Painting is so great for my mental health. When I’m painting, it’s quite intense and I can’t really think about anything else, which has the added benefit of acting as a block to those negative and intrusive thoughts which naturally occur when you have a cancer diagnosis,” says Heather. “Painting and the immersion into the world of art is a good mental and intellectual challenge. Painting has given me a reason to live, a purpose – I want to stay alive to keep painting as long as I can.”

The Art Trolley service which provided the paint pack is part of St Vincent’s Arts in Health Program which offers a range of services from the musicians in hospital to exhibitions and an Art Lending Library for patients during their stay at St Vincent’s Hospitals in Queensland.

St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside CEO Oli Steele says the Arts in Health Program supports the social and emotional wellbeing of patients, their families and hospital staff by providing encounters with the arts that are engaging and meaningful.

“We’ve had plenty of feedback from staff about how when patients engage with and take advantage of the Art Trolley, which is staffed by our wonderful volunteers, their mood and well-being is improved and it really lifts their spirits,” says Mr Steele.

Dr Alex Chaudhuri, is an infectious diseases specialist at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside and Director of Infectious Diseases at Prince Charles Hospital – as well as being an avid supporter of the arts and creative community (including being a Foundation member of the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art).

Dr Chaudhuri says the “healing power of the arts” is real and, in its many forms, is an invaluable adjunct in helping people recover from illness and injury – a view which has been supported by research.

He points to a UK study which reviewed the relationship of the arts and humanities on healthcare and the influence and effect on patient and staff health found that there were enormous benefits in a range of ways including: addressing high anxiety and depression during chemotherapy; reducing blood pressure and heart rate for cardiac patients with selective use of music; reducing the length of stay in hospital for surgical patients; while others reported a significant reduction in the use of pain medication after surgery.

Dr Alex Chaudhuri - Infectious Diseases Specialist at St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside.

Heather's artwork which is now on display at St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside.

“The role and importance of the humanities in medicine is often not well appreciated,” says Dr Chaudhuri.

“I have always believed the practice of the arts – that could involve painting and drawing, listening to music, reading or writing poetry - is a powerful healer.

“Whether it be in visual art reducing anxiety and depression in cancer care or the use of music to alleviate stress peri-procedurally, it has a beneficial effect on our patients. In one study music even reduced the length of stay for babies in a neonatal unit!

“Furthermore, staff working in such environments are more satisfied. I believe we become further steeped in the many metaphors of our humanity when we engage like this and it leads us as health professionals to provide more compassionate care to our patients.

“St Vincent’s has a well-established arts program ahead which is ahead of its private sector peers. It needs to be celebrated as much as we do our many medical innovations as it shows that St Vincent’s remains true to its values of providing compassionate care as an organisation.”

For Heather, she continues to revel in the “healing power of art”.

“It helped me to develop a new identity when I was stuck, and when I was facing a health crisis. When I step into the artist's persona, nothing else seems to matter,” she says.

“I believe that being immersed in the natural world, and creating art in response, is a deeply healing and nourishing experience for the mind and body. I hope that my artwork may pass on this experience of healing and connection to others as well.”

The story of cancer patient Heather and the healing power of art

Better and fairer care. Always.