Facing a Terminal Diagnosis, She Built a Free Art Program for Cancer Patients

A doctor once gave Vicki Mackie weeks, possibly months, to live. That was nearly two decades ago. Today, she runs a free program that has touched hundreds of lives across Colorado and beyond.

It started with a plan that never came to be. In 2005, Mackey was preparing to semi-retire and return to her first love — art. Then came a stage three metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. After surgeries and chemotherapy, a follow-up PET scan delivered a second blow: the cancer had spread to both lungs. Her first oncologist offered little hope.

Her response was to create something. Mackey, a resident of Aurora, Colorado, founded Sites and Insights, a completely free program for people affected by cancer. Participants gather — in person at Colorado retreats and virtually — for art workshops designed not just for creative expression, but for emotional release. Mackey believes unprocessed trauma sits at the root of many chronic illnesses, and that giving people a structured, communal space to externalize that pain matters.

Kerry Frank found out firsthand. Diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in early 2022, Frank describes the treatment period as a relentless cycle of tests and procedures that left little room to reckon with the mental health toll. It was through Sites and Insights that she began to work through it. "I never once thought that art could be so therapeutic this way," she said. "It really is an amazing tool."

The program uses a wide range of artistic mediums and expression formats, not just canvas. Frank says every session she has attended has contributed to her recovery in some way.

Sites and Insights remains entirely free of charge, sustained by donors and fundraisers. For Mackey, keeping it accessible is not a detail — it is the point.