Adamari López is celebrating 10 years of being cancer-free this year. The Puerto Rican actress and Telemundo show host was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and she even wrote a book called Viviendo (Living) in 2012 about her experience with breast cancer in order to help other women. Since then she has teamed up with Orgullosa and the League Against Cancer in order to urge women to talk and bring awareness to the disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, Latinas are diagnosed with late-stage cancer at higher rates than non-Latinas. This means that one Latina dies of breast cancer every 90 minutes in the U.S. There are a lot of taboos and cultural stigmas, as well as poor education and language barriers that Latinas have and it’s time to break those barriers.
“’Don’t touch your body, don’t touch your breasts, don’t look at yourself naked in the mirror,’ we have a lot of taboos,” AdamariLópez said in and interview with EFE. She adds that the League Against Cancer has a very special place in her heart because of the free services it offers to those in need.
“I’m very grateful for all the love and support it has always given me during my life, my recovery, my career and now in this wonderful new chapter as its ambassador,” she says.López urges Latinas to do a self-examination and put cultural impediments behind them so they can concentrate on preventing breast cancer.
See who helped her during this difficult time (in Spanish) :