Shin Noguchi is an award-winning photographer based in Kamakura and Tokyo, Japan. The following series of images documents his dad’s final years and, ultimately, his death from lung cancer. It is an incredibly intimate portrait of Shin’s father and close family. On the one hand, it is an extremely personal story, yet on the other hand, losing a parent to cancer is something, with which a vast number of people can identify.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of new cases of cancer is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades. Cancer is already the second leading cause of death globally, and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015, while tobacco use is the single most important risk factor for cancer and is responsible for approximately 22% of cancer-related deaths globally. Statistics also show that lung cancer mainly occurs in older people – approximately 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older.
My father, 83 years old, it was the first time taking a photograph of my father when I had a secret about him that he didn’t know himself, Kamakura, Apr 2014
My father, 84 years old, Kamakura, Dec 2014
My father, 85 years old, playing with Kotoyo, Sagamihara, May 2016
My father, 85 years old, attended by my mother, Sagamihara, May 2016
My father, 86 years old, always makes delicious food, ‘tempura’ the most for us, and plays with his grandchildren a lot also, Sagamihara, May 2017
My father, 86 years old, after making food, Sagamihara, May 2017
My father, 86 years old, never stopped smoking but I think this is a good thing considering his age, and I always said don’t smoke in bed, don’t smoke around your grandchildren, Sagamihara, May 2017
My father, 86 years old, after playing with grandchildren, Sagamihara, May 2017
My father, 86 years old, with 9-year-old nephew KenKen who has periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), Sagamihara, May 2017
My father, 87 years old, suddenly lost weight in the last two months, Sagamihara, July 2017
“This may be the last meal of his life he finished eating…”, my mother told me while showing a photograph she recorded, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, going to the hospital, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, attended by my mother, Sagamihara, July 2017
My family listens to his condition from a doctor, in the hospital, Sagamihara, July 2017
My family listens to his condition from a doctor, in the hospital, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, was hospitalized for the first time, in the hospital, Sagamihara, July 2017
My father, 87 years old, was able to get home for the first time in three weeks, but was repeating the same thing the whole day, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
My father, 87 years old, trying to play with Kotoyo again, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
My mother, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
My father, 87 years old, with Hikono and KenKen, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
My father, 87 years old, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
“Good night dad, see you soon”, My father, 87 years old, Sagamihara, Aug 2017
“You didn’t make it…”, my older sister spoke to me, as I arrived in front of the hospital, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
My father, was 87 years old, in the hospital, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
“Your father showed a smile to KenKen at the last moment…”, in the hospital, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
To the hospital morgue, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
In the hospital morgue, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
In the hospital morgue, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
In the hospital morgue, Sagamihara, Sep 6 2017
In the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
In the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
In the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
In the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
My mother broke down crying after meeting with my father again, in the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
Outside the crematorium, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
When we came back to my parents’ house from the crematorium, the TV was broadcasting a special program about the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Sagamihara, Sep 2017
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