The day after being diagnosed last August with aggressive ovarian cancer at age 36, Jen Burgess Thompson gathered up her two young sons, some friends and her husband. They drove to Mt. Bachelor and made a movie.
In it, the stunning blond runs through a golden field of wildflowers with her sweet and handsome sons, Cohen and Cooper. She writes messages on a chalkboard like “We will not be defeated” and “Eff Cancer.” She tears pages from a small notebook after writing bits of her story. “I am Jen” “I am a mom” “I am an artist” “I am not cancer.” The pages blow away and snag in the flowers.
It is deeply moving and has been watched thousands of times. The video is the beginning of her very public and vivid chronicling of her battle with cancer. Thompson, who has her own photography studio in Redmond, documents every step of the journey, through her blog, on Facebook, and in the photography and videography of some of the most talented photographers and cinematographers in Bend who donated their time and effort to the Source’s2012 Woman of the Year.
