Pilar Mazo
Logroño, (EFE).- Life after cancer treatment becomes for many of its survivors a desire to live day by day, the moment, leaving behind sterile worries to dedicate themselves, truly, to what is important, to take care of themselves self and health.
This is how Sandra Navarro and Jesús Santamaría summarize it, survivors of two different malignant tumors, in the thyroid and the esophagus, respectively, on the occasion of the celebration, this Friday, of World Cancer Day, an anniversary that, in statements to EFE, They have taken the opportunity to appeal to society about the need for prevention, attend health screenings and support research.
The common denominator of both testimonies is summed up in this sentiment: “everything collapses when you are detected, overnight, with a tumor at this level, which makes you reflect on the importance of living day to day,” they say. .
Supported by the multidisciplinary team of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) of La Rioja, their relatives and closest circles, they claim to have managed to improve their quality of daily life and truly give importance to the things that matter.
a jug of cold water falls on you
At 49 years old, Sandra Navarro, a native of Logroño and with a 20-year-old son, admits that she has not yet finished overcoming the nightmare when, barely a year ago, she was detected a thyroid tumor, in a medical review of her work.
“They removed half of my thyroid and, when they detected that the initial tumor was malignant, they had to intervene again,” she says with the retrospective look that this caused her, since her mother had had a breast tumor removed a few years before.
“You are in for a jug of cold water to experience this situation firsthand”, but, thanks to the medical team of the Rioja Health Service who treated him, his referral to the AECC professionals in La Rioja, the support of his family, his friends and the company where he works, “everything is becoming more bearable.”
Once she has undergone cancer treatment, she tries to lead as normal a life as possible, but always “with concern and uncertainty,” she assures, that the tumor can reproduce, since she has to undergo routine and analytical tests because the cancer “does not have a cure date”.
He also acknowledges that his illness has made him reflect on the need to “give importance to your life, your health, live day by day because tomorrow you don’t know what can happen.”
In this regard, her message to so many people who, like her, experience this situation is: “be strong, support your loved ones, don’t be afraid and trust the professionals”, in her case, “a great team” at the head of La Rioja health and the Spanish Association against Cancer in La Rioja, with its Psychology department in charge.
cancer changes your life
At 60, Jesús Santamaría, also a resident of Logroño, takes his life in a different way, after two years ago they removed, also “overnight”, a tumor in the area of the esophagus, whose size it also required part of the stomach to be intervened.
He admits, like Sandra, that he lives with the uncertainty that he has overcome cancer, that he has not finished curing himself because he needs his routine health check-ups.
The disease forced him to retire and take life in a different way, away from the daily stress of work, and dedicated to his companion dog, his children and his wife, whom he thanks for their support during “very hard” times.
«I had had a scratchy throat for some time, which I attributed to an allergy to pollen, until one day -he continues in his story- I found it difficult to swallow a piece of bread; I went to the doctor, he prescribed a gastroscopy and, the next day, they referred me to the San Pedro Hospital because the specialist told me: this is serious”.
From that moment on, “everything happened very quickly: surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy,” explains this cancer survivor, who is also very grateful that the oncologist who treated him referred him to the team of psychologists from the Association against Cancer in La Rioja, which have helped him “overcome the disease”. EFE