Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer among Latinas.

According to the Office on Women’s Health, even though Latinas are less likely than non-Hispanic white women to develop this condition, breast cancer in Latinas is typically found during the most advanced stages, when it is more difficult to treat.

In parts 1 and 2, Silvia revealed her diagnosis and talked about her surgery and subsequent treatment.

Chemo and radiation were the right choice for me, I’m not sure if I would be in remission for 15 years without it.  But I also made the choice not to do any reconstructive surgery.  Although at the time I felt incomplete and was very self-conscious about my body, somewhere along the way that changed.   As the years have gone by the deformity is like a medal of honor.   I thought I would be embarrassed going to a gym or a spa.  But I actually don’t care if I have a deformity.  If someone asks me, I am happy to share my journey.  I want my journey to be worthwhile.  If someone notices one of my breasts is not whole, then maybe they will ask about it, and maybe they will talk about it with their mothers, daughters, or sisters.   If it encourages one person to do a self-exam or make that dreaded mammogram appointment, I have made a difference. 

In part 1 of this series, Silvia talked about being diagnosed with breast cancer and how it affected her, her family and friends.

After the surgery, we received the good news: my lymph nodes were negative, and there was no indication the cancer had metastasized. I was given treatment options,  and in a short time, I knew more about medical treatment and breast cancer than I ever thought I would.  I took my daughters and sisters along for the learning. Our family became a breast cancer awareness family.  We talked about it, we read about it, and we became active participants in my recovery.  My choices for treatment were radiation without chemotherapy or both regimens.  I opted for the chemotherapy and radiation, as the  chances for a re-occurrence were lower; once again, I wanted to stack the deck in my favor. 

Many diseases are caused by both genetic and environmental factors, but for many breast and ovarian cancers, mutations in the BRCA genes drastically shift the blame to genetics. Women with these mutations face a five- to 30-fold increased risk of developing such cancers – compared to women without the mutations – and their risk of developing breast cancer can be as high as 85 percent over their lifetime.

As a child and young woman my family never discussed cancer; maybe we were fortunate not to have had a reason to or just simply it was the belief that if you do not discuss cancer you won’t get it. The only illnesses discussed were the heart-attacks my grandmother claimed we gave her every time my sisters and I did something to annoy her. When I mentioned to my mother that I had discovered a hard spot on my breast, she said, “Yeah, it is probably from breast -feeding, not letting your milk dry out right.” Several years, many biopsies, and several opinions later the once benign breast lump was diagnosed as stage 2 breast cancer.