Our piece is an interpretation of what lung cancer looks like under a microscope; specifically, we focused on a common type called squamous cell carcinoma which is typically caused by smoking. We created this piece through a paper-rolling technique called quilling. The message we wanted to convey is that because it’s difficult to appreciate recovery from an illness you don’t yet have, prevention efforts are often under-acknowledged, compared to the more obvious positive effects of treatment. To represent this visually, the strips of paper in this piece had images relating to different areas of prevention printed on them, before they were cut up and rolled. The key below shows how the colours of paper used each correlate to a different form of prevention:

White – genetic testing

Ivory – reduction of exposure to carcinogens like arsenic/asbestos

Light pink – discouraging graphics on cigarette packets

Hot pink – reduction of air pollution

Dark purple/black – CT scan of lungs as part of a screening program

Light purple – liquid biopsies to detect circulating tumour DNA