I suppose it was somewhat inevitable that a son of Italian parents given the Christian name of Michelangelo would have to be an artist. Michele Angelo Petrone certainly lives up to his name. Exhibitions of his work have already appeared at the Royal Academy Summer Show, the Barbican, The Mall Galleries, the South Bank Centre, the Wren Gallery, the Knapp Gallery, the Wigmore Hall, the new and prestigious Walsall Museum and Art Gallery and widely throughout Europe. In 1990 he was awarded the Medal and Special Award for Distinction by the Glogow Museum in Poland.

In 1994, however, and at the age of just 30, Michele (pronounced Michael) was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's Disease (cancer of the lymph glands) for which he received extensive (and successful) treatment at University College Hospital, London. At much the same time, a close friend, Fiona, was diagnosed with and died from cancer of the breast. Two years later Michele expressed something of his cancer journey in a series of paintings at the Wigmore Hall, London. Called 'Between Night and Day' the exhibition was well received and attracted much attention, not least from the medical and psychological world. An article appeared in the July 1996 edition of The Lancet and Michele soon found himself asked to speak on various platforms. Since then his work has become known world-wide and he has established a reputation as an inspiring speaker and teacher in relation to cancer. He works closely with people with cancer enabling them to express themselves and all they feel about their disease through painting.

As you will find mentioned throughout the current edition of Rapport Michele made a considerable impact upon so many people during his week-long visit to CancerCare in January. He also came and gave the annual CancerCare lecture in Kendal last autumn and St John's Hospice is endeavouring to obtain his services to work there for a while.
Michele is a warm and open person who has sought to transform his own dark experience into a means and source of light for others similarly affected by cancer. He speaks openly about his own illness.

"On 8th March 1994 I felt a taut tension in and spasm from the centre of my chest up my neck. The next day a lump appeared on the left side of my neck. Little did I know that I also had tumours inside my chest and in my armpit. I had been struck down with Hodgkin 's disease.

Nothing I had already been through, or been taught or heard from other people, prepared me for what I was about to go through in the next three years. It was more difficult and more painful that I had ever imagined. But part of that pain and difficulty came out of fear and ignorance. My fear and then the fear of everybody around me. Illness and death are a part of life, yet they are very much a taboo subject in our society. As an artist it is my natural talent and instinct to express the events and feelings of my life, but my life and work had never felt so challenged.

As I lay in hospital undergoing high does of chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, I started to paint watercolours and gouaches, originally just to decorate the glass window in my hospital door. I was in isolation as I had no immune system to combat disease. My bone marrow had been destroyed by the toxic chemotherapy drugs, in an attempt to also kill off the cancer cells, which it eventually and successfully did. I didn?t know then that these images were actually depicting the emotional events of this journey of illness.

"When my paintings were first exhibited I began to realise how much other patients identified with and found solace in them. I began to see how important it is to share this personal journey of illness. So now, in all I do, my hope is to try and inspire and support people in similarly frightening situations, and enlighten and guide others to a different and better understanding."

Michael has produced a small booklet called 'The Emotional Cancer Journey' containing small black and white copies of some of his powerful painting together with a commentary. More recently he has also published a delightful book called 'Touching the Rainbow' which contains paintings and words by some of those with whom he has been working. They feature what he calls 'soul paintings', the work produced by cancer patients and others to express on paper something of their inner emotion. The results are so moving.

"My cancer journey has taught me so much, about myself and about the world around me. But mainly about the things that most of us are never taught about, and don't feel we can talk about openly. I know this may seem hard to understand for some, who find it too painful and whose only way to cope is to shut down. That is how most of us face the initial traumatic shock of discovering one has a life threatening disease like cancer. I was scared, terrified, for my life, I have never come closer to death."

"This is my soul painting, I chose a horse because I see it as a symbol of strength, beauty and freedom, running wild through the incredible landscapes of our lives. The blue represents the magic, the anima within all of us, life. The head and tail turn inward, searching and feeling within. Having cancer forced me to face up to my mortality and accepting the darker side of life. This in turn, in contrast so to speak, has high-lighted the more precious aspects of life to me, things maybe I took for granted and did not value as much as I do now, through my journey of illness."

All the symbols within the horse represent these different aspects of life and death, feelings wonderful and difficult, and things personally important to me. The cycle of life is made up of day and night, light and dark, and it is these, together, which I have learnt is the essence of our being, so the first symbols I painted were the sun and moon; they also represent happiness and my dreams respectively for speaking of dreams and wishing upon a star, is hope. Fire is the spark of life, the burning light within us all, and flames of passion. The passion of my life is painting and colour, for which I need these tools of the trade. The book is knowledge and poetry, and everything I have learnt.

As we get older, perhaps there is a feeling that we should act in a certain 'adult' way, and even though, yes, there are certain responsibilities that we have to learn to accept and act upon, I think we must never forget the 'child' in us, the natural, the sensitive and the playful. My guardian angel is always looking over me, holding my hand and being my guide. The boat is my vessel, my instrument of travel over the waters of life, the river that runs from the source out to the open sea. The spiral too, symbolises the eternal pattern of life.

The tree represents growth, that sprouts from a small seed, and bears the fruits. I did not intend for the snake to be associated with the evils of temptation, as with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, but with the slippery, slimy, sneaky way the bad things in life, like cancer, creep up on you. I think it's more to do with the game of snakes and ladders, but I detest snakes all the same. The menacing shears cut away the useless and shape the cloth but the blackness is loss. The crown of thorns, where blood has been shed, is pain and suffering, both physical and emotional. The cross, another religious icon, perhaps to do with my Catholic upbringing, is about the spiritual, and death. The eye is said to be the window to the soul, the tears show sorrow and sadness. I think the most important feeling of all is that of the heart, love and compassion. No other feeling has made me feel so good as the love I feel for others, and the love I have been showered in. And the key is what we are all searching for, to unravel the mysteries of life, and unlock each of the doors to each of the rooms that we walk through. Illness has been a huge part of my life, and I have come through it, but this must not diminish how hard it has been for me and everyone around me. But I have learnt a new language, that can talk of pain and loss and even death, and yet who would have thought it possible to find love, compassion and even joy in those moments to? Only those who understand and have learnt the same language. The bird sings it's own song, both happy and sad for the whole world to hear."

Copies of Michele's book can be obtained from CancerCare. All who have met and worked with him are already looking forward to his next visit.