This piece, titled “Cancer,” was created for Michelle Brasier after I read her brilliant book My Brother’s Ashes Are in a Sandwich Bag. I adored every morsel of it—I practically devoured it like Bruce and the chocolate cake in Matilda. I laughed, I cried, and rode the full rollercoaster of emotions. If you haven’t read it yet, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Michelle shares her experience of discovering a 97% chance of developing bowel, pancreatic, stomach, or ovarian cancer, after losing both her father and brother to the same disease. She also writes about her partner, Tim, and his love of constellations. So, I present, the constellation of Cancer, formed from cancerous cells. The original artwork now lives in Michelle’s home, and I’ll admit—I feel rather smug about that.

This piece invites us to wonder whether our fate truly is written in the stars. And if I’m ever faced with anything like what Michelle has endured, I hope I meet it with her same tenacity, humour, and fierce passion for life.

For every print of “Cancer” sold, whatever the design or colour, 30% of proceeds go to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.