‘In Search of Solitude’ is a photographic story which shares details about how a close friend, Reece, attempts to find solace in nature after having endured a year-long journey. During this, he recovered from lymphoma, was put into remission, and was forced to isolate himself as he was placed into a category of people who were extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.

A cancer diagnosis regularly affects the emotional well-being and the mental health of patients, often inducing anxiety, distress, and depression. Reece had to deal with the effects that his diagnosis and treatments had on his emotional and mental health, during a pandemic when there would be increased emotional uncertainty.

Reece’s mediastinal b-cell lymphoma is a fast-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and develops through the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Lymphocytes, which are infection-fighting white blood cells, flow via a liquid through the lymphatic vessels. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma affected Reece’s lymphocytes by making them multiply in an abnormal fashion causing them to build up in certain parts of the lymphatic system, meaning that affected lymphocytes lost their ability to fight infection. In Reece’s case, they built up close to his heart. The exact cause of non-Hodgkin lymphoma is unknown. (NHS/Macmillan cancer support)

Friendship and nature are the things we most value and have utilised to come to a mutual understanding of what it is that he has faced, is still facing, and will face post-pandemic. Our intention is to share Reece’s story to empathise with those facing similar struggles and to offer an example of how one individual in a complex emotional battle, still copes with his struggles, through engagement with nature and friendship. This project aims to raise questions about the importance of our immediate environment to mental and physical health, and the way in which we care for vulnerable citizens during crises.