Ascension St. Agnes Hospital uses breast cancer survivor's artwork to inspire patients

BALTIMORE -- A breast cancer survivor's artistic talent is helping to save lives.

Robin Rouse, who is diagnosed with breast cancer, uses her paintings to encourage survivors to keep moving forward.

One in eight women in the United States will get breast cancer in their lifetime.

The diagnosis can crush peoples' spirits.

Rouse is using the stroke of her brush to paint an image of hope.

Ascension St. Agnes Hospital printed hundreds of cards with Rouse's painting and is now added to every breast cancer patient's kit. 

"I just wanted somebody to know they are not alone," Rouse said. "And just repeat these to yourself. Or stick it somewhere. Or stick it in the bathroom as you are brushing your teeth." 

On the back, is a personal message from Rouse to not give up. 

"They have to have faith that their journey is not for nothing," Rouse said.

More than eight months ago, Rouse went to the doctor's office for an annual mammogram, and she left with news that changed her life forever.

"My whole world changed," Rouse told WJZ.

When Rouse was diagnosed with breast cancer, she struggled to find any gleam of hope.

"I was blaming myself and I was really suffering. I felt alone," Rouse said.

In her search for a light at the end of the tunnel, Rouse turned to a new favorite pastime -- painting.

But one day, she sat down and her heart poured out something different on the canvas.

"A rainbow suggests promise," Rouse said.

She painted words of encouragement within a circle.

"Growing in trust," she said.

The paintings have a pink Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon in the center.

As she kept reading the words aloud, she felt them sinking in and wanted to now help others feel the same.

"Words can also be very soothing but they have to come from an honest place," Rouse said.