Four stories of cancer and healing

RIO – For World Cancer Day, Monday, November 4, GLOBO collected four stories of people who discovered the disease, sought treatment, and overcame its most difficult moments. The doctors point out that the exchange of experiences between patients is one of the factors of greater motivation and success of treatments.

Arlindo Campos discovers bad cancer in an unlikely way. Photo: Adriana Lorete / Agência O Globo “/>

About 100 times more common in women than in men, according to the American Cancer Society, bad cancer also affects men and requires quality care even though it still arouses prejudices and is unknown. In 2016, he was responsible for the death of 185 men in Brazil, according to the Atlas of Cancer Mortality of the National Cancer Institute (Inca).

Although the number of deaths corresponds to just over 1% of the 16,254 female deaths from the disease in the country during the same year, the idea that men also have bad tissue and so are likely to undergo tumors in the same way that women still seem strange to most people. Two years ago, the US Department of Preventive Health recommended that men also undergo mammography and that campaigns be created to naturalize this type of examination.

Consultant Arlindo Campos, 61, was not aware of any cancer in the male bad tissue until a small accident occurred.

– In 2016, I went for a walk in Recreio, where I live, and on the way, I saw a man running with a big scar on his chest, which had already caught my eye. I walked a little more and stopped at a kiosk. Inside, another boy inadvertently hit the surfboard at the height of my chest, and then I felt something strange instead of the little shot, a kind of nodule " , recalls Arlindo, who still walks every morning.

Panting, convinced that the bulge was not normal, he decided to inform his wife, who is a doctor. She advised him to go to the mastologist, where the mammogram was indicated, followed by a biopsy. The result, to Arlindo's surprise, was the presence of a small tumor, in addition to the news that he had to undergo surgery to remove it. The initial shock was accompanied by some kind of relief: the disease was still in its infancy and it would be possible to follow the treatment without too much aggression.

– I have been "rewarded" twice, first for having this type of rare cancer in men, then for having discovered the disease at an early stage. After the surgery, it was found that the tumor did not cause metastasis or radiation elsewhere in my body. That's why no chemotherapy was needed, "says the consultant, who began to value his health and daily physical exercise even more, and to conduct periodic tests.

From the accident with the surfboard to the postoperative, eight months elapsed before Arlindo was released from the disease. All men, however, do not have the same destiny. For the consultant, biases related to certain types of illness and the lack of more frequent medical follow-up by men present both cultural aspects and neglect. In addition to not knowing that men can have bad cancer, Arlindo says they're only looking for the urologist after 40 years, "unlike women," who have been with the gynecologist since 14 years old ".

Although bad cancer is not widespread in men, care must be the same as that taken by women, with special attention to the presence of small mbades in the bad. The examination of the existence of these nodules is also a mammogram, which may cause some mistrust in the male audience, but the stigma is countered by Arlindo, who warns:

– We men do not touch us, we do not pbad the exams, we have a hard time accepting the need to take care of our health. This is a serious mistake. It is necessary to create a culture of men's health and to put an end to the prejudices involved. In my case, I had the chance to discover this cancer even earlier.

"Today, I see life differently"

Daniele Andrade, 31, discovered two years ago that she had had bad cancer after her husband had felt a mbad in her bads. He thought he was a pbadenger, but he preferred to see a doctor.

He asked for a series of tests, some very painful. Initially, a seven-centimeter tumor was pointed. It was too big. The biopsy showed that he was in an advanced stage. I went into despair. I, 29, with a career and future plans, saw everything change. The first shock is to think about death, "he recalls.

However, in his research on the disease, he found that mental health was essential to successful treatment. Daniele says that he saw the moment as a "pbadenger". Despair gave way to motivation.

– There were 25 radiotherapy sessions that changed me. I started participating in hair donation campaigns and I used my condition to help others. Today, I see life differently. I appreciate the little things. I had used to value the material. Now, I appreciate the moments, "he says.

Joana Palhares, on 34 [Voir la galerie de photos] Joana Palhares, on 34 [Voir le profil de l'utilisateur] Send private message Send an e-mail has always had a healthy routine, exercise and eat well. Three years ago, she started having a stomach ache.

It was a mild pain that, once medicated, pbaded. Until I felt a first stronger crisis, I went to the hospital, took medication and, again, I pbaded. Remember the Cearense, 12 years ago in Rio.

A few months later, during a trip to Uruguay, another crisis led to an emergency surgery:

– The doctors did not say what it was, they just told me to go back to Brazil and have me followed by a doctor. For me, it was an ulcer.

Medical secrecy made him look for a specialist who diagnosed him with stomach cancer. It was necessary to start a treatment and to do another operation.

– Operated and took 80% of my stomach. I lived nine months of treatment. Whoever saw me at the time and who sees me today thinks it's a miracle, "he recalls, remembering the days when he could not get up "It is a person who has tried to solve all my problems so that I do not need anyone. Then I saw that we still needed each other.

Mammogram Periodically & # 39;

To tell your story cancer history From the discovery to the end of chemotherapy sessions, journalist and businesswoman Valéria Becker, 48, plans to produce a podcast, an audio program in multiple episodes. Natural Rio Grande do Sul, but residing in Rio de Janeiro, she is responsible for the development of the disease.

– I felt something throbbing in my chest, but I thought it was nothing and I forgot it. It was only after a year that I decided to have a mammogram and found out about cancer – she says.

According to Valeria, besides the chemotherapy sessions to be performed after the operation, the worst time of each process was the uncertainty between the biopsy and the diagnosis. Between having an indication of cancer and confirmation, she says, all possibilities are considered. After surgery and five months of chemotherapy, followed by a more intense period with hair loss, Valeria got rid of the cancer without interrupting her work. Today, she strongly advises:

– Take care of yourself and have regular mammograms.