A SERIES of photographs documenting a Bradford woman’s cancer treatment will be in a major national exhibition exploring the disease.

The images of breast cancer patient Sairah Mirza, taken by her sister, Nudrat Afza, follow stages of her treatment over several years. They were shown last year on Bradford’s Big Screen, as part of a project showcasing local artists, and this autumn they will feature in an exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester this October, then the Science Museum in London in May 2022.

Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation and Hope is the world's first major object-rich exhibition to explore the past, present and future of how cancer is prevented, detected and treated. Created by the Science Museum Group, with support from Cancer Research UK, it presents stories of people affected by cancer and those who study and treat it. As well as busting myths about causes of cancer and examining how science, early detection technologies and immunotherapies are advancing cancer care today, the exhibition also looks at how it has been treated over the centuries, from high-risk surgeries to the first chemotherapy drugs.

Curator Katie Dabin said: “Despite advances in survival there are still big questions to address. Why do treatments sometimes stop working? Why does cancer come back in some people but not others? What we’ll show is that the revolution happening in cancer care is about more than just science. There’s a profound shift in expectations and attitudes - cancer is no longer regarded as a terminal disease that can’t be mentioned by name. Today more people than ever before can be treated or live with it for a long time. Hope has broken the silence that surrounded cancer.”

Featuring art installations, film, photography and personal stories, the exhibition also includes historic objects used in cancer care and new technologies, including mini-tumours created for medical study and virtual reality tumour maps.

Nudrat started photographing her sister when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. “I’ve taken photographs at different stages of treatment, mostly at Bradford Royal Infirmary. I wanted to show Sairah’s resilience, dignity, trust and hope,” said Nudrat. “She has tremendous strength and courage and remains positive. I wanted the photographs to reflect that. Initially I was very emotional about photographing Sairah but I wanted this to be a record for her and her daughter, Ariana.”

The Cancer Revolution exhibition will showcase Nudrat’s work nationally. “I am so thrilled that my work will get a wider audience,” she said.