How cancer patient finds strength in art therapy and with her husband draws optimism
Ivy Ip says art therapy classes at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund have been a source of inspiration. Now she’s exhibiting her work in Wan Chai

Hong Kong couple Ivy Ip, 45, and Kenneth Kwan, 52, had been married just four years in 2021 when they received life-changing news: Ip was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
She quickly underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a 10-hour surgery – her first ever – to remove her uterus, ovaries, gallbladder, spleen and more.
To the couple’s dismay, the cancer returned in a few months.

The first group course she joined, in 2022, was called “Inner Beauty” and designed for gynaecological and breast cancer patients.
An art therapist checked in on participants at the start of each session, then gave them a prompt and the freedom to move around the room, grab materials they felt drawn to, and create. At the end, each participant shared their artwork with the group.