KULR 8's Healthy Living: Local News

Inspirational Artwork

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By Katie Ussin

Story Updated: Aug 21, 2009

BILLINGS - Bob Schwarz is a survivor of a rare form of cancer called Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He has been in remission for almost six years.
"I'm feeling pretty good," said Schwarz.

He stands inside the Billings Clinic Cancer Center looking at portraits of himself in the midst of his eight months of chemotherapy sessions.

"It shakes me up a little to look at it," he said. "It really does. Brings back the feelings that I had at the time and sometimes they weren't the best."

Feelings of depression, fear and physical pain all captured in the 18 acrylic portraits by his younger sister, artist Barb Schwarz Karst of Missoula.

"For quite some time we didn't know if he was going to make it or not, he was given less than a 20% chance to live and he was stage four when he was diagnosed," said Shwarz Karst. "So, we had talked about if he had lived through this that we'd tell the story so we could help encourage other patients that might be facing pretty dyer circumstances too."

The paintings are put to a poem, written by Schwarz Karst.
"The name of my poem is 'Milestones of Robert's Life'," she said.
Each line is a literary take of his life including his fight to keep it.
It is a poetic take on an ugly disease, meant to encourage others to keep up the fight.

"I hope they see that they can make it," said Schwarz. "That they can get beyond and see some grandchildren born too!"

The artwork will go on display at St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula next summer.

They also hope to show it at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, which was the sister institution for Swharz's clinical trial.

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