Artist Vincent Serritella painted portraits of Dr. Akanksha Sharma and other employees of Sutter Health who helped him heal (Courtesy photos edited by GNN)
Vincent Serritella was only a little concerned about the flashing bright spots in his lower-left vision field; he wasn’t expecting anything serious.
The former Pixar animator and San Francisco Bay area artist was in for a surprise—going from waking up with the bright spots to making a decision to go into open-brain surgery.
At Sutter Health, his CT and MRI scans made for grim viewing: stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer of which only 5-7% of people survive. It spread rapidly into healthy brain tissue, and the visible tumor is almost never the whole malignancy.
Yet against the odds, following a brain resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, Vincent is now cancer-free and recently had his second clean MRI scan on June 2nd, after being diagnosed in December.
In the midst of treatment, he returned to painting as a way to process his diagnosis and repay the people who supported him through it.
His consulting neuro-oncologist Dr. Akanksha Sharma, advised him to tap into his creativity, because it helps increase brain elasticity and may improve treatment outcomes.
Dr. Sharma arrived at Sutter three years ago, and Serritella is grateful. He appreciates Dr. Sharma’s approach and method—of allowing oneself to be happy, alongside honesty about the future.
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He’s now painted 30 portraits of the people who cared for and supported him through his illness, including many of his Sutter doctors, nurses, and caregivers.
Marissa and Vincent Serritella with Dr. Michael Zhang (see his portrait here) – Courtesy of Sutter Health
“100% I’m alive today because of them,” Vincent says in a video below, shot by Sutter Health and showing many of the paintings.
“Art is always something that’s been a constant since I was 5. The highest form of gratitude from me is to let me paint your portrait.”
Each portrait is more than a painting. It’s a tribute to the compassion, connection and care that carried him forward through the latest chapter of a creative life.
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WATCH the video below on Instagram to see him painting—and see more of the artwork and his thoughts about them on Facebook).
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