Mexican in Spain and mother of a little Mexiñol (son of a Mexican and a Spaniard), Paola tells us her testimony as a breast cancer survivor to encourage people with the disease and their caregivers.
Article by Paola Sandoval Huerta *
I am Paola Sandoval Huerta, Mexican, Guadalajara and breast cancer survivor. I come from a family of doctors, from my paternal grandfather to my brother who is the last one to have studied this great profession.
I grew up hearing a play on words that had to do with the signs of the zodiac when they referred to someone having been diagnosed with cancer. The humor of some doctors is usually a bit sour, my dad's is no exception.
“I'm not a Cancer, I'm a Capricorn”
That play on words resounded in my being on July 3, 2018, when I found out that I have a lesion on my chest with the peculiar name of “ Piaget”, linked to a possible breast cancer. I find out about this in the most sui generis way. This is my story.
My family doctor gave me the result of the biopsy that they had done without explaining it to me well because he preferred that the specialist explain it to me, something that is usually part of the protocol.
Her attempts to reassure me until I had my appointment with the dermatologist didn't work. In addition to being a curious person and coming from doctors, reading the result made me uneasy because I had a very ambiguous memory of something about this disease and that it had to do with cancer. I did not hesitate for a moment to get into the famous Google san to investigate about it. I wrote "Piaget" and, when I clicked on the search engine, it immediately sent me to a cancerology page, which confirmed my suspicions. Alone and with my soul I find out about my possible cancer.
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My whole life suddenly came to my mind and the only great fear that throbbed strongly in my heart was leaving my son an orphan who was about to turn 2 years old, my second concern was how to give them news of this magnitude to my parents, ten thousand kilometers away.
In a state of shock, I decide to talk to my brother, who is also a doctor, explain to him what was happening to me, and ask him for his help so that he could speak with my dad as a professional to a professional, and even more so as a gynecologist to a gynecologist.
Upon hearing the news, moved by that wonderful brotherly love, my brother suggested that I go to Mexico. I live in Toledo with my husband and a mini mexiñol, that is to say my half Mexican and half Spanish son. Specifically, he suggests Guadalajara, our land, where he undertakes to find one of the best onco-gynecologists in the country, since they are great friends and work as a team in situations of this nature.
But I still had to talk to my husband to give him the news and make decisions together. After analyzing the pros and cons, we decided to accept my brother's offer to go to Mexico to treat me. The complicated thing about this matter is that in the face of this type of disease, time is worth gold and the faster one is treated, the better.
Photo: National Cancer Institute (Unsplash)
So on July 8th I was already boarding a plane with my son, with a suitcase full of hope to get through all this. On July 9 they do the pertinent studies confirming that I have a tumor for which they would have to operate on me, on July 14 they perform a radical mastectomy on me and that day I am born again, because despite the fact that I lose a part of my body that is closely linked to my femininity and maternity by taking it off I was cleansing my body of this other body that strongly threatened to leave my son an orphan at such a young age, besides that I am a woman who very much enjoy living, who I love intensely my family, friends and my two lands, Mexico and Spain, so if it was necessary for them to remove my breast and any other part of my body I would be willing to do so.
Facing cancer is not an easy task, if I told you about each and every one of my adventures throughout the treatment, the obstacles I had to jump over I would need at least ten pages, that is simply not my intention. What I am interested in sharing with you are the main lessons that this experience brought me as a gift:
- “Just for today”: this is very similar to the key phrase of the twelve-step method of Alcoholics Anonymous, I invite you to live just for today so that at the end of the day we say "today was worth living", this does not mean that we intend to nullify any type of feeling or emotion that makes us feel sad, angry, angry or similar, because that is also what life is about, although we insist on having an always happy life, situations will come that will move our world, it will put us to the test and all kinds of feelings will come to the fore. The question is: what do I do with those feelings? It is up to us if we transform the experience in such a way that it makes us grow as people.
- “It's me but you are too”: Diseases that require long and sometimes aggressive treatment periods are experienced by patients and their families and friends. If you are the patient, keep in mind that you are not alone in the process that there are people who are going through it together with you, so they also have bad streaks with a swing of emotions as valid and important as the ones you are experiencing. Now if you are that family member or friend of the patient, avoid pity, offer your support and do not feel bad if at any time they reject it, sometimes the intensity of the moment makes the patient unable to adequately handle their feelings. Finally, both parties keep one thing in mind: "Everything passes and that too shall pass."
- “All help is good”: I am convinced that the best way to combat diseases is through research and development of drugs for their cure, so I invite you to donate a little money at least once a year to a cause that collaborates with the investigation. It is very nice to put profile photos with pink, yellow or other colored bows, but that will not solve the problem. It is true that it helps to make diseases visible, but if we want to end them we must go beyond that and the best way is to donate or buy anything that is destined for drug research and development.
- “Eat, love and pray”: this phrase that became famous thanks to the movie starring Julia Roberts is fantastic, but I have to confess that I have never managed to finish watching it for one reason or another. I interrupt her. However, cancer made me understand the importance of intensely tasting the food that life offers us, both physically and spiritually, that the best way to take advantage of this life is by loving with all our strength, beginning with oneself to continue with others and Ultimately, the key to truly overcome any disease is by truly trusting what we believe. In my case, I declare myself a believer in God, that there is a supreme being who loves me in such a way that he only wants the best for me and my loved ones, one day I decided to put my life in His hands, that He was in control of everything and as they say "I'm lazy and cooperating".
I don't know what will happen tomorrow. What I do know is that the day I leave this world I will do it calmly because I am living the best I can with what I have. That the best thing I can do for my son, husband, family and friends is to leave behind life experiences so that when they remember me, they draw a smile on their faces, let out the occasional laugh, that if a tear rolls down their cheeks savor them on your lips, drink your favorite drink and toast to how wonderful it is to live.
I hope that science advances in such a way that the meaning of the word cancer is solely and exclusively the name of one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
* Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Relations and Master's Degree in Administration. She has more than 15 years of experience in human resources working in National and International companies and 10 years of experience as a teacher in administrative careers. She is a consultant in medium and small companies. Member of the Communication Coordination in the Global Mx Network, Spain Chapter.