Portrait Series: Fighting for Life

"Go Gold" - Her entire story can be seen through Megan's eyes. Just look.

"In the Worst" - Megan reflects on a time when things were awful - a time when the future was dim.

"Self-Reflection" - She stands in her own Ivory Ella shirt, remembering the times before her diagnosis.

"The Scar" - On her left forearm, a skin discoloration can be seen. This is one scar from her original diagnosis.

"We Won, Again" - Megan stands proud with her medal from CureFest. These medals are only awarded to survivors.

6 years ago, Megan's life changed forever.

It was the holidays, and Megan was enjoying spending time with family. She had finished her Middle School's production of High Schoo Musical 2 just a couple months before and was excited to start high school in the coming months. On Christmas day 2014, Megan's dad noticed a bump on her forearm. Later in the day, Megan retreated to her bedroom because she wasn't feeling well. The next day, her and her parents went to go get the bump checked out, leaving both her family, and the rest of a "normal" life behind.

Over the next 4 days, Megan underwent endless hours of scans. Then, on December 30, she was officially diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Cancer.

In the past fall of 2014, Meg and I had grown much closer since we were both in the middle school musical. It was New Year's Eve, and I was laying on my cousin's couch in North Carolina when I received a text regarding Megan's diagnosis. It was right then and there that I knew if someone was going to beat this wicked disease, it would be her.

Since her original diagnosis, Megan has relapsed 4 times. Each time she met the battle, she stood strong, trusted her doctors, and knew that she was not going to lose. Perhaps the most incredible part about her journey is her understanding that this diagnosis was an opportunity to enact change - to make a difference in this world. Megan became a national advocate for childhood cancer awareness. She spoke up, attended rallies, and created partnerships so that no other child would ever have to suffer from cancer again.

These images depict her inner struggle and strength of fighting. They show her when it was the hardest to fight, and they show her standing strong on top. I chose these images because they capture who she is as a person and her long journey. When deciding what to take, I knew that this would be a very personal shoot. She's my friend who has been to hell and back, and back, and back, and back.

Since her diagnosis in 2014, her father, Kent Bugg, has documented her entire journey on a blog which can be read here: https://meganbuggsjourney.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/help-them-make-the-change/ At first, Mr. Bugg wrote every single day. Since then, the blogs continue, but not as frequent.

Just a few months ago, in 2021, Megan relapsed again.