My name is Shawn Cooper, I’m a (lesbian) photographer/ cinematographer from Pennsylvania. I’m filming an ongoing vlog series about my current cancer treatment that I need some help with. I’m now entering the stages of my 9th battle, as it seems intent on coming back every time we try to cut it out or nuke me. My goal here is not just to educate people, but to inspire them to live their lives in spite of a bad diagnosis. Many people give up when they hear the word “cancer” but I’ve found that the right mentality can truly keep you alive. After all, I’m living proof, I should be dead by now. I’ve had so many people reach out to thank me for motivating them to keep pushing, it’s overwhelming.
My illness isn’t just my primary focus, either. I want to drive attention towards the people that deserve it. I do a lot of work with kids with disabilities, help counsel (unofficially) younger gay and lesbian with some of their difficult identity issues, and just really like to help out the underdogs in any situation. If someone’s being picked on, you can almost guarantee I open my big mouth about it and get some results. I unwittingly became a bit of a mentor last year when a child from my neighborhood was murdered by his own parents and his oldest brother sought me out for guidance after I organized a fundraiser to pay for the poor boy’s funeral. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time, I didn’t really envision such an impact of what I was trying to do.
I’ve had 8 surgeries on my neck, with a 9th coming in the weeks to come. I went blind during this, resulting in two more surgeries to make me able to see again. I’m not complaining. Because I’m still working. My work load, exposure, followers have been on the rise since the last episode with the footage from my neck surgery hit the internet (114k organic facebook reach).
I’ve attached links to the show, trailer, and recent articles my photography work has been published in. I shoot everything myself, edit everything myself, and I’m completely self taught.
Please follow the progress of my treatment and my artistic expression through the vlog project that I’m working on. Any support would be greatly appreciated.
SHVWN COOPER – Press
Headshots were captured by Elena Jasic
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