'Breast cancer cell images show beauty in all'

A scientist whose wife has incurable cancer has transformed microscope images of breast cancer cells into large-scale artworks for an exhibition to educate others and show there is "beauty in everything".

Anais Muczynski, 36, an orthoptist who lives with her husband Vincent Muczynski, 41, a researcher, received her primary breast cancer diagnosis in January 2023 after discovering a quail egg-sized lump in her left breast.

At the time, the London-based couple were "optimistic", as it was stage one – meaning the cancer was only in the breast tissue or in the lymph nodes close to the breast – and she underwent chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and a double mastectomy.

Anais said she was deemed to be "disease-free" in June 2024, but just a few months later, she discovered a new pea-sized lump on her collarbone – and this time, she was told her breast cancer was stage four and incurable.

Learning "how little" cancer patients often understood their diagnoses, Vincent wanted to create large-scale images of breast cancer cells, grown in a laboratory, being treated with a next-generation anti-cancer immunotherapy for an exhibition.

The Beyond The Ribbon exhibition, hosted by the Pink Ribbon Foundation, which provides wellbeing and practical support to people affected by breast cancer through the charities they fund, is being shown at the Firepit Art Gallery in Greenwich until Saturday.

Anais said: "For me, as a patient, Vincent's images are incredibly cathartic because you are able to face your cancer.

"They are not my cells, but they are treated breast cancer cells, so they are the same type of cancer as mine.

"It's striking to see the cancer cells being blasted… to see the magic and the power of the science.

"It helps you realise there is beauty in everything."

Anais said she was "lucky" to be accepted onto a clinical trial in January 2025, and she is currently "tolerating the treatment well", meaning she has been able to return to work and take part in aerial arts classes in her spare time.

Last year, Anais even performed at the PINKLondon2025 charity gala in aid of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, which was 1920s-themed, and this was a "very powerful moment".

While she has experienced periods of "grieving", the eye care professional said she wants to "make the most of the good days", and she is grateful for the solid support network around her.

Speaking about Vincent, a research fellow at the UCL Cancer Institute, and his support, Anais said: "I am really lucky to be loved the way I am.

"A life like mine is worth living also because of him."

Inspired by Anais and other patients, Vincent had the idea to create large-scale images of breast cancer cells being treated with a next-generation anti-cancer immunotherapy to help educate those affected by the disease.

The images are of real breast cancer cells used in laboratory research, frozen in time and photographed using advanced fluorescent microscopy, before being artistically reworked by Vincent.

The couple, who moved to the UK from France in 2018, hopes it helps patients, families and colleagues gain a greater understanding of breast cancer and how treatments target the cells inside the body.

Vincent said: "By magnifying what is invisible to the human eye, it opens a window on a world that not many people have the chance to see.

"It's a world full of artistic shapes and unsuspected activity, where cells are growing, moving around, thriving, fighting each other, and eventually dying.

"It's a way of showing the beauty behind a very nasty disease."

Lisa Allen at the Pink Ribbon Foundation said: "Breast cancer doesn't just affect older women, and it doesn't always end when treatment finishes.

"This exhibition is meaningful to us because behind every cancer cell is a human story."

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