The Power of Making Social Change and Cancer Prevention a Reality for Latinas
By Aidee Granados
Aidee Granados is founder and CEO of Rosa Es Rojo, Inc., a nonprofit. wellness and cancer prevention for Hispanic Women.
As a Latina living in the U.S. for the first time, with a basic knowledge of English and American culture, I didn't understand much of what the doctors talked about or how they were treating me—or my cancer.
I was writing everything down after my doctors’ visits. I used to inquire about medical terms and asked my doctors to spell them out for me to make sure I could learn about them in my own language.
My medical team seemed cold and uninterested in who I was.
For my first chemo, I arrived with the attitude that characterizes me: determination, and more determination to learn something and see “light” amid this madness.
There was a lady in front of me, in the infusion room. Possibly my same age. Maybe Latina, just like me. I was tremendously affected upon seeing her. Somehow I could feel her soul deeply disturbed, as if it was covered by a veil, communicating heartache.
She was yelling; throwing magazines, books. She sent her companion out of the room.
I told my husband, "Please, whatever happens, I don't want my soul to feel like hers.”
I wanted to do everything that was necessary to strengthen my spirit, and ask for help. A lot of help. She needed help. I needed help. Others needed help too.
Embracing my cancer, and not only surviving it, opened a window to radically improve my well-being, the way I love and the reverence I have for life. An improvement that has not required money as the main input, but willpower and a firm belief in myself.
How to share that willpower? How to make others believe they can decide for a better outcome? The answer: it’s not the fight that drains, but the love that heals and renews everything.
““How to make others believe they can decide for a better outcome? The answer: it’s not the fight that drains, but the love that heals and renews everything. Embracing my cancer, and not only surviving it, opened a window to radically improve my well-being.”—@rosaesrojo #PowerToChangeStories ”
Aidee Granados is founder and CEO of ROSAesROJO™, a nonprofit making wellness and prevention accessible for the high-risk cancer population of Hispanic women in North Texas by educating them on nutrition, physical activity, emotional health, and positive thinking, filling the gap created by cultural barriers, offering a Spanish solution, using culturally relevant content. @rosaesrojo https://www.facebook.com/rosaesrojo ; https://www.instagram.com/rosaesrojo/ ; https://www.rosaesrojo.org/
