A collage of photos representing a teenager's journey through cancer treatment.

Through Their Eyes: Empowering Teens to Conquer Cancer with Photovoice

Beau Callahan in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 3 min read.

"Discover how a groundbreaking photovoice intervention helps adolescents navigate cancer treatment, express their hidden struggles, and find strength in shared experiences."

A cancer diagnosis can dramatically alter the course of an adolescent's life, disrupting their physical, psychological, and social development. Despite medical advancements, teenagers often face lower rates of improvement compared to younger children and adults, highlighting the urgent need for innovative support systems. This is where photovoice steps in, offering a powerful way to address the unique psychosocial challenges faced by adolescents undergoing cancer treatment.

Photovoice, a participatory action research method, empowers individuals to document their experiences and perspectives through photography. By capturing images and sharing their stories, participants can spark dialogue, promote critical reflection, and advocate for change. In the context of adolescent cancer care, photovoice provides a platform for teens to express their often-unspoken needs, connect with peers, and influence healthcare practices.

This article explores a photovoice intervention conducted with adolescents undergoing active cancer treatment. Discover how this innovative approach enabled teens to navigate their journeys, foster resilience, and inform healthcare providers about their evolving needs. Prepare to be inspired by their stories and insights.

Unveiling the Power of Photovoice: How It Works

A collage of photos representing a teenager's journey through cancer treatment.

The photovoice intervention described in this study brought together six adolescents aged 13 to 17, all undergoing active cancer treatment or having recently completed it. Over seven weeks, participants engaged in weekly 90-minute sessions, co-facilitated by experienced social workers from the Oncology Program. These sessions provided a safe and supportive space for teens to explore their experiences, share their struggles, and connect with others facing similar challenges.

Each week, the group collaboratively chose a theme to guide their photography, such as "strengths," "struggles," "true friends," "fears," and "hopes." Participants then captured images that reflected their personal experiences related to the theme. During the following session, they shared their photos, discussed their meanings, and explored how they connected to the chosen theme.

Creating Connection: The themes encouraged introspection and open dialogue.
Building Skills: It developed photographic and expressive abilities.
Empowering Voices: Participants gained confidence in sharing their experiences.
Fostering Support: It created a peer network for shared understanding and mutual support.

To analyze the rich data generated through these sessions, researchers employed a narrative content analysis approach. Transcriptions of the sessions were carefully examined to identify recurring themes, which were then categorized using a previously developed integrated framework. This framework encompassed six key domains: physical changes, psychosocial impacts, short-term social impacts, long-term social impacts, impacts on holistic well-being, and informational needs.

A Transformative Tool for Adolescent Cancer Care

This photovoice intervention offers a powerful model for supporting adolescents through their cancer journeys. By providing a platform for self-expression, peer connection, and advocacy, photovoice empowers teens to navigate their challenges, foster resilience, and inform healthcare practices. This innovative approach has the potential to transform the landscape of adolescent cancer care, ensuring that the unique needs of these young patients are met with compassion, understanding, and effective support.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1080/07347332.2018.1469564, Alternate LINK

Title: Through Our Eyes: A Photovoice Intervention For Adolescents On Active Cancer Treatment

Subject: Psychiatry and Mental health

Journal: Journal of Psychosocial Oncology

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Authors: Georgi Georgievski, Wendy Shama, Sonia Lucchetta, Mark Niepage

Published: 2018-10-29

Everything You Need To Know

What is photovoice and how does it specifically help adolescents undergoing cancer treatment?

Photovoice, as a participatory action research method, enables adolescents undergoing cancer treatment to document their experiences through photography. This process allows them to share their stories, sparking dialogue, promoting critical reflection, and advocating for change within their healthcare environment. This is particularly important because teenagers often face different challenges and lower rates of improvement compared to younger children and adults with cancer.

How was the photovoice intervention structured, and what kind of activities were involved in each session?

The photovoice intervention involved weekly 90-minute sessions over seven weeks, co-facilitated by social workers from the Oncology Program. Each week, participants chose a theme like 'strengths,' 'struggles,' or 'fears' to guide their photography. During the sessions, they shared and discussed their photos, connecting them to the weekly theme. These themes fostered introspection and open dialogue, also building skills in photography and expression.

Can you explain how the data from the photovoice sessions was analyzed and what framework was used?

Researchers used narrative content analysis to examine transcriptions of the photovoice sessions. They identified recurring themes and categorized them using an integrated framework covering six key domains: physical changes, psychosocial impacts, short-term social impacts, long-term social impacts, impacts on holistic well-being, and informational needs. This analysis allowed them to understand the experiences and needs of the adolescents in a structured way.

What are the specific benefits that photovoice offers to adolescents battling cancer?

Photovoice has several benefits, including creating connections among participants, building their photographic and expressive skills, empowering them to share their experiences, and fostering a peer network for support. It provides a platform for self-expression, peer connection, and advocacy, ultimately helping them navigate their challenges and inform healthcare practices.

What are the potential limitations of using photovoice in adolescent cancer care, and what further research could be conducted?

The photovoice intervention, while beneficial, may have limitations such as a small sample size (six adolescents) and the potential for selection bias, as participants volunteered for the program. Future research could explore the long-term impacts of photovoice, its applicability to diverse populations of adolescents with cancer, and its integration into standard cancer care protocols. Also, further studies could investigate how photovoice can influence policy changes and resource allocation within healthcare systems to better support adolescents undergoing cancer treatment.