How to live without looking back?

Yes you can. And it must. The cases of Sandra Ibarra, Beatriz Martín and Sara Navarro are just three of those thousands of battles what do they plant face cancer. They have known how to shake him with force and overcome him with attitude. Each one with its own spear, but all with the same intention: to put the bug in its place. Their respective breast tumors have not turned off that light that follows them everywhere, but they have made it so beautiful that today they have proposed to infect it. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to pass the word and be here today telling my story,” said Martín, a judoka. “It is an opportunity to change things in your life”, maintained Navarro, designer. “We are facing a disease of which we can already be optimistic,” added Ibarra, a model. They did so at the third colloquium held at LA RAZÓN on the occasion of World Day against this type of cancer. They spoke from the depths, from pain turned into a compass. And always to heal your doubts, which are ultimately the same as anyone’s.

Beatriz took almost a full day to find the precise words to tell her mother what she was suffering, as she herself had overcome cancer two years earlier. “I always relied on sports. I considered the situation as a fight and studied my rival: it is true that I could not get rid of the tumor, but I could help to make everything a little better ”, recalled the judoka. Something that the other two guests also shared. For Sara, that tenacity owes a constant in any combat. “You have to be aware of what has led you to that and be very attentive to the changes in your body.” Hence, recovering the long-awaited normality is something that none of them find too normal. “Since then, my life had to be extraordinary. You have to live more. You have to be happier “, stressed the model.

During the process it goes through a person with cancer emotions play a role almost as important as the medicine itself. From denial to understanding. But, how can a person adapt to cancer? How does the disease impact the family environment? And what are the main changes in life after the disease? are some of the questions raised by Carmen Montón, former Minister of Health and moderator of the colloquium. “Getting angry is part of both treatment and recovery. It is normal to feel anger ”, she showed her companions. “It is true. I thought life had been very unfair to me because I had to continue raising my son. At home we never hide it. In fact, I put a lot of emphasis on naturalizing it, ”Beatriz replied. “How those loved ones experience it is also very important, but we must never lose sight of the fact that you are the person who can do the most for yourself.” Denial, uncertainty, fear, blockage, anger, sadness, hopelessness … are an accumulation of feelings that the patient experiences and that change in the different stages of the process. According to a study by the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC), self-esteem is strengthened and 78% of the women interviewed they feel more alive and stronger after illness. Furthermore, 85% consider that having maintained a positive attitude helped them at all times. In any case, there is something that stands out above all: the person has become stronger, but he has also reaffirmed his beliefs. “We all have a extraordinary power that we don’t know what we have until we actually use it, ”Ibarra concluded. Something that was more than demonstrated.