The expedition members who have overcome the disease and will go on an expedition to Antarctica in November, within the 10th Edition of the Pelayo Vida Challengeexpress their discomfort with the term “fight” against cancer. One of them is Alvaro Cross, who She has overcome breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in January 2022. He claims that “they attribute to you a responsibility that does not correspond to you, Because no matter how hard you try, it’s not in your hands. You can do everything that science says you can do, but that’s it..
A Macarena Bohorquezanother of the chosen ones (more than 500 candidates applied)he was diagnosed a soft tissue sarcoma at age 34. It is a rare cancer (between 1 and 3% of cancers diagnosed throughout Spain). “This means that There is not much research and therefore there are not too many treatments to combat them.. And this is very scary, especially in the diagnostic phase,” she explains. Macarena agrees with Cruz: “The term makes me uncomfortable, because I have not chosen to fight. The first day someone told me, I replied: ‘Look, if this was about fighting I wouldn’t be as scared as I am now, because I know how to fight like a beast.’ But the feeling I had when I went to the doctor was one of helplessness. I asked: ‘What can I do?’ and they answered ‘nothing.’ The feeling is of “You can only wait, put yourself in the hands of the doctors, do things that make you feel good and pray that the medicine has reached where you need it and that everything goes well.”
Another of the selected ones is Marta Castillo, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Marta shares on social media a post by the consulting firm Acompasar, specialized in compassionate communication about cancer and end of life, in which a headline that says “Actress Shannen Doherty loses battle against cancer” is corrected and instead reads “Actress Shannen Doherty dies from breast cancer.” Doherty did not lose the battle against cancer, because the disease is not fought, it is treated. That is why people who suffer from it should not be held responsible for the results of “wars” or “battles” that they did not decide to fight.
Ana Ibaneza neuroscientist expert in training for the high brain performance of sports teams around the world, will work with them before they embark on their adventure to Antarctica so that the difficult journey “is not only a challenge, but also a gift.” Ana says that It is normal that they do not feel understood, and that they will only feel fully understood by those who have gone through the same thing.
The expeditionaries recognize that Each person reacts the best they can, or know how, when they tell their circle that they have the disease. And that process is also hard: “You expect a ‘what do you need?’, ‘how can I help you?’ But you get a look of pity,” explains Cruz. “It’s true that people who pretend to help you, to positivize and give you a halo of hope tell you that nothing is happening. But you think: “What do you mean it’s okay if I have cancer?”
Macarena shares her experience: «I am a strong person in general, and I have tried to make sure that my people do not see me in a bad light in order to protect them, because One of the things that has hurt me the most about the disease is involuntarily making those around me suffer.People do what they can, but what was most difficult for them in my case was that the day I needed to vent, the day I needed to cry, to express my fears… That day they tried to cheer me up as best they could: ‘Come on, woman, it’s okay.’ And what I needed was to cry, to complain. Because when you go to the oncologist and ask him if you’re going to live, he says, looking you in the eyes: ‘Let’s wait for the tests, let’s see the treatments, step by step.’ He doesn’t say: ‘Of course, you’ll see how it’s going to turn out well.’
Ana Ibáñez concludes that The Pelayo Life Challenge help to balance the scales: The expedition members have had to face a challenge that they did not choose, illness, but now they will face one that they have chosenfor which they are striving. A once in a lifetime opportunity.
Beyond operations
“I think that the disease is not understood,” explains Macarena. “I had that feeling, for example, with side effectsIt’s not like they remove the tumor, give you your treatment, it’s worked and that’s it. Then there are a lot of side effects, and the operations are brutal, they remove part of your body, your body changes, you have to go through a period of mourning. You have to stop seeing your life as it was before, stop trying to be who you were, because you have changed and your life has changed. They are some physical and psychological processes, an internal struggle. I think that We should talk more about the emotional processes and the long-term physical consequences. I had no idea about this and I think that by making it more visible, the support would be better.
Pelayo Insurance For 10 years, she has been transmitting a message of personal improvement to all women who have already been cured of cancer and to those who suffer from it. Among the surprises to celebrate the 10th Edition of the Pelayo Vida Challenge, In addition to the preparation with Ana Ibáñez, each expedition member will have this year a godmother who will support her throughout the process: Ariadne Artiles, Laura Vecino, Paula Ordovás, Elena Sánchez, Teresa de la Cierva and Marta Barroso have joined the adventure. The goal: to reach more women each year.
