Children Fighting Cancer Ended up in an Inspiring Photo Journey

You can bring happiness to anyone with whatever skill you have, this has been proved by Lora Scantling, a professional photographer who offered to do a free photo shoot in her Oklahoma studio for children with cancer, only to bring smiles on their face is changing the lives of many by inspiring to fight and break the disease.

This all happened when Lora Scantling, who has long documented happy moments of birth, graduations and weddings came across her stepfather who was dying of lung cancer and her close friend, who lost her one-year-old son of cancer a few years ago. She then found herself helpless. But a moment later she realized she has a skill that could put to use in order to lessen the sadness. Thus offering herself to this creative idea to do a free photo shoot for children with cancer became live.

When she announced her plan, three families from nearby Oklahoma towns responded. Three girls showed up at Lora’s studio in Yukon, Oklahoma, accompanied by their mothers. 6 years old Rheann Franklin, who was suffering from a rare form of brain cancer, 4 years old Ainsley Peters, who was treated for leukemia and 3 years old Rylie Hughey, who was suffering from kidney cancer. All of them had spent years in and out of hospitals and had lost their hair during the chemotherapy treatments.

Mother of two daughters, Lora, would then dress up the children and make them feel beautiful. Then turn to her lens and capture their sweet faces. Lora says, “I wanted to do something powerful and emotional”.

One thing Lora noticed, though the girls had never met before, but they quickly became friends in the studio and were soon giggling and posing for photos with all their emotions. Maybe they have found a funfilled day in the studio being in the spotlight for something other than their illnesses. Lora says, “Watching them interact was so sweet and inspiring. They stole my heart”.

The girls began stealing thousands of hearts when Lora posted the photos on Facebook and thus began her journey of creativity with meaning. The photos touched many people on social media, who did not even know them, became concerned for their health and in awe of their strength and beauty. On the very first day when a photo was posted of girls, it received thousands of likes and comments.

Later that year, when all three girls were miraculously declared cancer-free, people wanted more of these lovely girls who had beaten the odds. So Lora arranged the photo shoot of the trio last month. On the fifth anniversary of that inspirational photo, the girls gathered again to pose with a new friend who has joined them two years back, 4 years old, Connor Lloyd, who is currently being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

After the popularity of the first photo session, which was shared widely on social media, Lora began to receive calls from other parents in Oklahoma whose children had also been diagnosed with cancer. She then offered to photograph them as well. Since then, more than ten children with cancer have posed in her studio.

Now after five years when she posted the photograph of the trio, children and adults with cancer started writing to her to say that her annual photos of the girls give them hope to keep fighting.