As young people so often do, Kayley Berezney believed she had all the time she needed. Her future, she assumed, was one of unlimited possibilities. She now knows there's a chance she won't be alive in five years.

Her death sentence is stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. There is, she said, no chance of remission.

She's 26.

An artist, Berezney tries to find meaning in tragedy, a lesson for all who will see her work: The body, even one that appears so strong, is fragile. Time, she wants them to understand, is precious and shouldn't be squandered.

"When I learned I had cancer," she said, "I no longer waited to do what I wanted to do in life."

She decided to pursue a master of fine arts, always a distant goal, and become a professional artist. She succeeded, graduating next month from Portland State University with an M.F.A in Arts Practices.

Her personal journey informs her public creative work. Berezney, a sculptor, uses material she knows will deteriorate in coming years.

"Plaster goes from dust to liquid to solid and then, in time, back to dust," she said. "It easily crumbles. Even though a viewer might not understand my story, they will have a visceral feel for what I'm trying to express. They will sense a struggle."

Teachers and fellow students knew nothing of Berezney's health battle when she was accepted to the M.F.A. program, said Pat Boas, associate professor and director of PSU's School of Art and Design.

"I know now that she struggled with how much to share," Boas said. "Was the cancer part of her work? Or was it something separate? Over the course of two years, it was interesting to watch her development. It became apparent how important art was to her life, and it became apparent to us, too. She began to share."

Berezney shares the journey of her life in her work.

Boas said Berezney's work is not best represented in a photograph.

"Seeing it in person is what makes it powerful," Boas said. "Her sculptures, in an abstract sense, make you think of the body, of the exhausted body.

Berezney said she wants to remind viewers of a hard truth.

"We are not permanent," she said. "Accepting we are impermanent is facing mortality. It forces us to ask questions about what we want to do with our time."

Raised in Albany, New York, Berezney attended college near there. During her senior year, felt a lump in her breast. A doctor told her it looked normal. A couple years later, while working in New York City, she began having pains in her hips and legs.

"I was working as an arts school teacher, working with special needs kids and adults," she said. "I was also working as a waitress. I thought the pain was from overworking. I went to the doctor. They found I had cancer, and it had spread from my breast to the bones.

"I had my ovaries removed," she said. "I was admitted to a clinical trial program with an experimental drug. That changed my perspective. I'd wanted that M.F.A. I wanted to experience what it was like to live out west."

Because the drug was experimental, Berezney needed to find a school near a hospital participating in the clinical trial. She found one in Eugene, and was ready to apply to the University of Oregon when the Federal Drug Administration approved the drug. She could live anywhere, and chose Portland State University to live in the city she'd heard so much about.

"I uprooted everything to come here," she said. "My doctors, my family and my support group. It was hard. But I never wanted cancer to determine what I did with my life. I integrated the care and treatment into the life I wanted."

She took classes, created in a PSU art studio and went to Oregon Health & Science University for treatment.

"I met her two years ago when she started this program," said Melanie Flood, a student who will also receive a M.F.A. in June.

"For any artist to grow is a challenge," Flood said. "What she's done, given all that's going on in her life, is amazing. She's not just a student. She's been part of a student-run art club and organized events for artists. She's a leader. She's left a lasting impression on PSU and the people here."

Berezney said her degree is akin to earning a business degree. In addition to studio work and instruction, students learn about the business side of being an artist, focusing on marketing and reaching the public. She held a public show in Portland last month. After graduating, she plans to move to Brooklyn for a show that will open in July. She also plans on teaching and creating new work.

She has vowed to use her remaining time wisely.

"Art is not a place to escape life," she said, "but a way to contemplate life."

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224

@thallmanjr