Breathe
By Frida Mendoza
It is not only in October.
It was in June when I spoke with Sandra Monroy -a breast cancer survivor- about the announcement of the cancellation of NOM-041, which regulates the minimum essential in breast cancer care, and a lot of sensations and learnings remained in me after that report, part of which I share in the link of this paragraph.
It was not in October either, but in April when my mom had her routine annual mastography and that "testing nerve" never goes away until we receive the negative results.
It was not only in October that strong, beautiful and valuable women in my life passed away from breast cancer. However, here I am writing a short column about October 19, "International Breast Cancer Day".
This Thursday everything is painted pink, there are pink ribbons everywhere, there are discounts for mastographies, there is talk that every 70 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
If every 70 minutes a breast cancer death occurs in Mexico, why is only October the pink month?
I completely understand that the issues, life, the daily agenda, everything, everything overtakes us. No one wants to think about getting tested, no one even wants to think about the possibility of cancer coming, and yet there it always is.
The current watershed for this conversation, from my perspective, came with the magnificent photographs that Sashenka Gutiérrez took of Sandra Monroy -who had a double mastectomy in 2021 after a breast cancer diagnosis and years of annual tests- and her photo circulated in the national and international press.
That noise that already resonated for many was amplified. Yes, we need to talk about early detection. No, it's not all about a vocabulary of war with fighters, winners and losers.
For those who live with a diagnosis of breast cancer the issue is an everyday one and for those who do not live with it we have to keep in mind self-exploration and prevention, which often become complex because we are afraid, we do not know how to do it and even if we look for tutorials on the internet, we find images of flowers or fruits and not of real breasts. All except one, Malvestida's, which managed to dodge the censorship of social networks (here you can see it).
I think that in addition to this, as with all diseases, we cannot turn our eyes if it does not happen to us, so perhaps what we can support is not to lose the eye, the focus, so that the minimum of attention, the minimum that the authorities owe us, is sustained and does not demolish the structures that already exist.
In June, the care of dozens of diseases and medical conditions was further agitated by the cancellation of 43 Official Mexican Standards -including breast cancer care- and the proliferation of news and information on the matter did not cease. However, the provisional suspension by a judge put a stop to it.
Four months later, the media hype has died down, but for the patients and survivors of this disease it is still in suspense because, as Sandra Monroy told me at the time, "no one knows how dark and deep it is to go through this disease until it touches you and, when it touches you, you learn that the most valuable thing is time, and this regulation, 041, established it".
It is not about hating pink or the day or month of the commemoration. Nor is it about not feeling fear, since we know how vulnerable our healthcare system is, besides being inevitable. But let's not forget it the rest of the year. Let us speak out and remain vigilant, not only in October, but until it becomes a habit.
*Frida Mendoza is a reporter and editor from Mexico City. She has 6 years of experience as a digital and investigative journalist working mainly on human rights, gender, feminism, health and metropolis in different digital media such as Emeequis, Malvestida, FrojiMX, MCCI, among others. She has participated as a columnist in Opinión 51 and is co-author of the book "Las 7 mafias chilangas", published by Grijalbo in 2023.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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