I Looked for a Second Opinion

As I said, stage 2 breast cancer was new to me. No one close to me had cancer or anything like that. I had to find out more about it before I committed to my treatments. I couldn’t stick with the first thing they told me back then.

One of my cousins told me, “Why don’t you look at this doctor?” And then they recommended this place called the Alexander Fleming Institute, right here in Argentina. It’s dedicated solely to cancer. Other places, even though they’ve got oncologists or other doctors on staff, might not be as focused. So I said, “Well, this has to be the place.”

I wasn’t given a set path. I had spoken with other surgeons who had said that they would need to operate first and then start chemotherapy. But the doctor I spoke with told me differently. 

He said that the tumor was very large, but I was very young — and I didn’t need to have the whole breast removed. He added that it would be better to start with chemo and reduce the size of the tumor, and then operate later.

And this regimen worked. After the second session of chemotherapy, the tumor disappeared. After that, I just needed a breast-conserving surgery, a lumpectomy, to remove any tumor remnants.

Getting Involved in Cancer Advocacy in Argentina

I’m working to help patients in Argentina as part of a realization I had when I was finishing up with the treatment, and even after I was done. I felt I needed to give back, to help others gain a second chance at life.

I took my stage 2 breast cancer experience forward by getting involved in VICARE GU, which is the first association in Argentina for genitourinary cancer patients and their family members and friends.

Initially, I was just helping the president of VICARE GU out. But she passed away, and no one could follow in her footsteps. So I got more involved. I’m now the president.

At VICARE GU, I’ve learned so much about patients and, in general, about dedicating oneself to patients’ concerns. And connected with how I felt, that I needed to support patients getting a second chance at life, is that we provide crucial information that cancer patients, their family members, and their friends can easily access and browse.

We started with kidney cancer, then went into the bladder cancer space next, and then genitourinary cancer. And we’ve also added information on other kinds of cancer: kidney, bladder, prostate, penile, testicular, and urethral cancer.

“Cancer” is Such a Dreaded Word

There’s still so much fear of cancer. The term really does carry some stigma. People might find it uncomfortable to know that someone has cancer.

Many patients and their family members participate in the online events or talks we organize. But when we put up an in-person event, not as many people come. It does take a bit more for people to show up in person, but people may also be a little ashamed to come.

When we speak of empathy and find that this can be missing, it’s because cancer really is stigmatized. Some people can’t even say its name, and when I invite them to events or even just say you’re helping cancer patients, they more or less give me their condolences.

I do understand this fear. I was also quite frightened in the early part of my stage 2 breast cancer experience. I equated cancer with death because I was scared of what I didn’t know. 

But now that I’ve been through my experience, I know so much more about it, such as the fact that cancer isn’t necessarily a death sentence; some kinds can be managed.

Men can have a particularly hard time with cancer, even just the idea of it. They don’t like to speak up and find it hard to see a doctor for check-ups. More than anything, for them, it’s the prostate.

My Message For Other Cancer Patients in Latin America

Those of us who’ve suffered from cancer should talk about what we went through, because experience is what counts. It’s best to share what they learned with others.

It happened to me when I had stage 2 breast cancer, and I got past it. And here I am, getting on with my life and working in cancer advocacy. It seems to me that the important thing for those who’ve had cancer, as well as those who currently have it, is to talk about it and share their experiences.

Doing so can help those who might be struggling with it, especially those who are so scared that they can’t see their way through and who could really use a little guidance and support.

I would like other patients to participate in the patients’ associations. These associations can provide powerful support that families and friends might not be able to. This is a different sort of support than oncologists and doctors can provide.

Of course, oncologists have a key role to play. They’re the only ones who might understand and with whom we have to work to make cancer better known and to make the stigma surrounding it disappear.