The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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Journalist Ana Cristina Fiedler, 48 years old, felt completely helpless when, in August 2023, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “It was as if I was in a desert, as I was in a different country, with no history of anyone known who had faced the disease. I even thought about returning to Brazil”, she says, who moved to Portugal in 2018.
After the initial scare, Ana, who recently finished chemotherapy treatment, can only be grateful. “Everywhere I went, hospitals, testing laboratories, care centers, I met incredible professionals and human beings. This gave me peace of mind to continue in Portugal”, he says. For her, the way she was received in the Unified Health System (SUS) was surprising. “Everything worked impeccably”, he highlights.
Ana also found support in a private institution, the Associação Partilhas e dados em Lisboa e Cascais, which had recently been created by Camila Cavalcanti from São Paulo. “There I received fundamental complementary support, all for free. I was able to see a dentist before starting chemotherapy, as you cannot move your teeth during treatment. I started seeing a psychoanalyst, the Brazilian André Marouço, and, after the operation, I had full support from an oncotherapist”, he reports.
Journalist Ana Cristina Fiedler, in the center, flanked by nurse Marta Maia and friend Michelle Rôças, who accompanied her in several chemotherapy sessions
Personal file
For the journalist, this entire support infrastructure is essential for anyone with poor health. But she makes an appeal: “That women should constantly self-examine their breasts. This is essential to identify any changes, any lumps that could indicate breast cancer. This self-examination must be accompanied by imaging tests. Nothing replaces a trip to the doctor.” Ana is committed to spreading these alerts, especially this month, Pink October.
“Ana was the first person we saw,” says Camila, who does extensive work to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of one’s health. To this end, he created the Optimism Movement six years ago, which brings people together every Wednesday morning to practice physical activities and socialize. “As I like running, I thought about creating a support network through running. Initially, I arranged with four or five Portuguese women, mothers of my daughter’s classmates at school, to exchange experience. Some time later, we already had more than 100 people in our activities”, he reports.
Support cocktail
Camila took advantage of all this support to resume a project she had done in Brazil, more precisely in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. When her sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, she decided to raise the flag for the importance of prevention in Pink October. The sister-in-law, however, died before the campaign was completed. But Camila took her on. It was 2016. Years later, already in Portugal, with the Optimism Movement in full swing, fulfilling its mission, the São Paulo native was invited to be an ambassador for the Partilhas e dados Association in Lisbon and Cascais. The entity has existed for 10 years, operating only in the Algarve and Chaves.
“There are at least six people in the Optimism Movement who have cancer, but who are always present at meetings and who do not give up physical exercise, as they know how important it is for health”, says Camila. She says that even those who don’t like running have joined the group, as other activities have been incorporated into the routine, with the beach tennis and the oar. “There is no age limit for participants, we range from teenagers to older people, of various nationalities”, he adds.
Although all of the partner professionals — doctors, dentists, psychologists, physiotherapists — donate services to the association, whether online or in person, Camila knows that, to expand services, resources are needed. Therefore, she decided to promote a Pink October benefit cocktail, this Thursday, October 17th, from 5pm, at Palacete Virtvs. Famous Brazilians who live in Portugal, such as Marcelo Anthony, Suzana Werner and Úrsula Corona, joined the campaign and are printing t-shirts at the event on social media. “We already have more than 80 people confirmed,” he says.
The Pink October campaign was expanded to Embelleze, a company that works with women’s hair products. During this month, all products in the Novex line will have 10% of sales going to the Brazilian Association to Support Women with Breast Cancer (APAMCM).
