Jane Brown: Finding Peace After Cancer

By Kristina Goetz • Photos Provided

Jane Brown was in the thick of it — between her second and third round of Doxorubicin, a chemo drug nicknamed the Red Devil. She’d watched the IV drip unnerving red liquid into the port in her chest.

She was restless, nauseous, and living on Ribena, a British drink made of blackcurrants she’d drunk as a girl in Herefordshire, England. She’d lost her hair. Every joint and muscle ached.

Now, at 2 in the morning, she was alone, wide awake, and miserable. She had no attention for TV or books. Out the glass door, she could see moonlight across her backyard. Her brain was stuck in a loop: When will this stop? When will this stop? When will this stop?

There in the dark, she remembered a moment from that afternoon — probably the best few minutes she’d had all day. From a big yellow Bean Bag on the floor, she’d looked up to see swallows nesting in the porch eaves. There were babies.

It was just a moment, but everything else disappeared, and she felt peace. She carried that moment into the night.

“And then I thought of those people who were alone who didn’t have anything to give them peace,” she said, especially the ones who came to treatment by themselves. “‘I wish I could help you.’ But you can’t help people. You feel so bad. Your body is not functioning. And that’s when I would think, ‘It would be great to give them a piece of art.’ … just to be able to share something with them to say: ‘You're not alone.’”

This October — Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Jane is sharing her journey with the disease and promoting her book 52²: Finding Pockets of Peace that was born from the experience. All proceeds from the book’s sale go to Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana, a local non-profit that provides free psychosocial support for anyone impacted by cancer.

“The fear is not necessarily of the cancer,” Jane said. “It’s the dying. Everyone’s afraid.… Gilda’s does a great job of creating an environment that people feel comfortable in. They connect people with other cancer patients and families, tell stories that inspire hope, and they encourage positivity to face fear.”

A Surprising Diagnosis

Jane’s own fear came after a routine mammogram in January 2024. The radiologist said something looked suspicious and that she needed more testing. “I thought, ‘Oh shit, here we go,’” she remembered. She didn’t panic or burst into tears. Like any proper Brit, she was pragmatic about next steps. Keep Calm and Carry On.

A biopsy confirmed the details: Ductal carcinoma of the left breast. Spread to two lymph nodes. Stage 2. HER2 positive.

The first thing the oncologist said was, “This is not your fault.” Jane didn’t hear much else. Her mind churned. Why has this happened to me? What does the future look like? Oh my God, is it moving? Where is it? What’s the treatment going to be like? Was it weed killer? Because I do garden. Did I drink too much wine? Is it because I drink out of plastic bottles? Is it radon? Am I going to die?

“But you cannot solve the mystery,” she said.

Jane’s treatment began March 5 that year, the day after her birthday, with eight rounds of chemotherapy. First, the Red Devil and then Taxol, which made her bones hurt. She suffered nausea, exhaustion, constipation then diarrhea. She was light-headed and in bed most of the time. She rarely ate. The longer treatment went on, the worse she felt. The reprieve she hoped for never arrived. Instead, the side effects were cumulative.

After chemotherapy, Jane had a lumpectomy and lymph node removal to rid her body of what was left of the cancer. She endured 28 radiation treatments. Then came the estrogen blocker because her type of cancer feeds on it. Night sweats and the onset of menopause followed. And Verzenio, a medication to help prevent cancer cells from replicating.

It took eight months, but Jane was finally declared cancer free.

But during all those sleepless nights, the lifelong artist made herself a promise: when treatment was over, she’d spend a year seeking out one peaceful moment each week, then illustrating it and writing a poem about it.

A 52-week Creation 

The search for moments began in September 2024. A walk on the beach that lasted 30 minutes or a moment just long enough for a bee to buzz around a hydrangea. A stiff wind that launched the parachute-like fluff of dandelion seeds across the grass. The instant a storm rolled in, and she was still standing in the sun. A long look at a majestic heron in sparkling water until a grandchild called out: Come on, Dobby! Let’s go!

Jane started with ink and colored pencil on smooth paper. But she didn’t have energy to drag the materials out every day. Sometimes, she sat in her comfy office chair with cricket on the telly, creating digital art on her iPad. She could layer the scenes from dark to light — trunk and limbs, shadows on the tree bark — just as she did on paper but didn’t worry about bleeding or feathering or any little mistake. She could easily create when the family travelled.

Those moments became the book: 52 weeks, 52 square images. Hence, 52 squared. She wanted the book to be of the highest quality so anyone reading it could feel the care that had gone into creating it. That included a linen cover with debossed images, a linen book sleeve, gold page edges, and a golden fabric bookmark ribbon. Jane wanted to create a tactile and visual experience to help calm the mind before opening the book.

“We are so grateful to Jane for sharing her talent with this creative project, which will not only provide peace and comfort but also help ensure families facing cancer will have a community of support at Gilda's Club,” said Karen Morrison, president and CEO of Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana.

The book has become so much more than a personal project, the response more than she ever expected. It has taken on a life of its own, Jane said.

“Whatever you are going through…grief, fear, loneliness, cancer, anxiety… I hope this book will encourage you to walk with the trees, study a flower, take in a view, or just sit in nature,” she wrote. “Gratitude for the small things is where the real power lies and experiencing the dark days makes these moments feel like a precious gift. Pockets of peace.”