During October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Tisséo is proposing an exhibition at the Capitole metro station in Toulouse. The exhibition, titled “Trajets de vie” (Journeys of Life), features large-format photographs by professional photographer Lydie Lecarpentier, documenting the realities of breast cancer care through the personal stories of women.
Exhibition at Capitole Metro Station Highlights Patient Journeys
Running from October 1 to October 31, the exhibition places large black-and-white portraits along the bare walls of the Capitole metro station near the main escalator. Twenty images have been selected for the public installation from a broader series captured by Lecarpentier, who followed patients through various stages of their care. The display aims to bring visibility to breast cancer—the most frequent and deadliest cancer among women—directly into the daily transit paths of commuters.
Lecarpentier shadowed participants to capture moments of their medical paths. Her camera documented diverse milestones, ranging from surgical procedures and nipple tattooing to auto-palpation workshops and fencing sessions. “I wanted to cast an aesthetic look on the disease,” Lecarpentier explains. “I didn’t lie in the photos; I captured particular moments in this terrible period for the women affected. I was happy to see them smile and hold on to life.”
Nadège Shares Her Experience Ahead of Second Chemotherapy
Among the women featured in the exhibition is 46-year-old Nadège, a mother of two children aged 16 and 18, who expects to return to her work as a nursery assistant early next year. Her portrait was captured the day before Mother’s Day at the Chouchoute boutique in Toulouse, just as she finished her first round of chemotherapy and prepared to have her hair shaved before it fell out entirely.
Recalling the session, Nadège notes she felt prepared rather than fearful. “The day of the shave—actually we don’t shave, we cut it very short—I wasn’t afraid, I was ready,” she says. “Knowing that, in addition, this moment was going to be valued and would help raise awareness among people, touched me. And then, at Chouchoute, we don’t cry, Véronique had warned me!”
One of the exhibition’s images shows Nadège catching her first glimpse of her cropped hair in a mirror while holding her husband’s hand. Initially hesitant to involve family to shield them from the illness, Nadège credits her teenage son with changing her perspective. “My son pushed me to participate, telling me ‘mom, you will always be so pretty,’ and he even plans to go see the exhibition with his friends,” she notes.
Advocating for Early Detection and Self-Examination
Beyond artistic expression, the project places emphasis on preventative health education and early screening practices. Lecarpentier stresses that her immersion in the project left her with a singular objective: ensuring that more women undergo routine screenings and learn proper breast self-examination techniques.
The urgency of self-awareness is highlighted by one participant under the age of 40 who discovered her tumor through self-examination.
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