DI breast cancer survivor paints with a purpose

Dull, dark, and depressing are words often used to describe hospital rooms.

 

While battling cancer in the hospital, Becky O’Toole felt the drab rooms were detrimental to healing and wanted to do something to help herself and others.

 

In the span of three years, the Daniel Island resident was diagnosed with breast cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. During that time, O’Toole discovered her strength and optimism with the stroke of a brush. While spending more than 100 days in the hospital, she used acrylic paints to find hope and healing while giving back to others.

 

Her aunt, Trudi Gilliam, a metal sculptor, has been a mentor and inspiration for O’Toole her entire life. Gilliam helped her through the isolation by saying, “When you are a true creative and have art in your life, you are never truly alone.”

 

Terrified she might not make it back home, Gilliam’s words gave O’Toole her purpose.

 

“That was what I needed during the complete isolation in my hospital room,” O’Toole said. “When we left for the hospital, I grabbed a small watercolor set and paper and got to work. The very method of painting a brush onto paper and hyperfocusing on creating something took the stress and feelings away so that my body could heal.”

 

She turned her hospital room into a makeshift studio and kept creating, continuing to get better. 

 

“My doctor said that being upright and moving around, to clean brushes, get paints, etc., helped my body accept the chemo and heal faster. My story is not unique to those who have battled and survived, but what I have brought out of the experience has touched art buyers and clients who have struggled with addiction, depression, and experiences beyond cancer, “ she said.

 

“I have learned you can consider yourself unlucky, but if you find the lucky in the unlucky – as I like to call it – you can forge a path of peace, calm, and gratitude. It may not change the outcome, but it shifts your perspective enough to maybe, just maybe, make the journey much more survivable.”

 

Over 18 years ago, O’Toole started coming to Daniel Island after she met her now husband. “My in-laws were some of the first settlers on the island, and I fell in love with the Lowcountry. We talked about moving to the island when we retired.”

 

COVID-19 and the ability to work remotely allowed them to move earlier. At first, O’Toole was worried about how she would continue her work. But she soon found her tribe within a talented group of local artists.

 

O’Toole continues to thrive and actively supports local causes, including MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and the breast cancer nonprofit Swing for the Lowcountry. 

 

O’Toole’s work will be featured at the Daniel Island Fine Art Show on Saturday, April 26, at the Daniel Island Recreation Center and is also available at the Southern Ruetz boutique at 128 Meeting Street.

 

To learn more about O’Toole’s artwork and her charitable nonprofit organization, visit The Pink Frame at thepinkframe.org.