A woman suffering from terminal cancer has auctioned off three-minute slots of her precious remaining time in a profound living art exhibition to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

Emily Lahey, 32, from Melbourne, Australia, was given nine months to live after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive NUT carcinoma in 2019.

Access to cutting-edge treatments in the United States that are not available in Australia has given Lahey an unexpected three years of life.

Now she has taken part in the Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s (ACRF) groundbreaking installation, Time to livein which 30 people took turns sitting with Lahey while an impressive digital timer counted down the seconds from three minutes to zero.

It’s time to live. Be present, make the most of it, because it can’t be bought, it can’t be saved

Carly Du Toit, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at ACRF, said: “We hope this idea helps highlight the ongoing need to support brilliant research that could give cancer patients like Emily and their loved ones the gift of the most precious thing we could wish for – more time.”

In addition to raising funds, the exhibition offered a unique and fleeting opportunity Understand the emotional and psychological stress of an incurable cancer diagnosis.

For Lahey, it was also a powerful reminder to make the most of a priceless resource we often take for granted. “I hope it allows (people) to see life from a slightly different perspective,” she said told the Australian television show The Sunday Project.

“It’s time to live. Be present, make the most of it, because it can’t be bought, it can’t be saved. And when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Image: Australian Cancer Research Foundation