When Griselda Garibay was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 44, the news came as a shock.
The Chicago resident moved to the United States from Mexico when she was 12 years old. Now the mother of two daughters, she had no symptoms, no family history of the disease and considered herself in good health.
“I was doing all the right things,” Garibay, a breast cancer survivor, health counselor and nonprofit leader, told NBC Local.
The diagnosis came on May 10, Mother’s Day in Mexico and much of Latin America, a date she had always associated with celebrating family.
“I won’t forget it,” she said. “Not in a bad way.”
Garibay’s experience reflects what researchers say is one of the most persistent misconceptions about breast cancer. While almost all women recognize family history as a risk factor, most women who develop breast cancer don’t actually have one.
A new American Cancer Society (ACS) survey of nearly 33,000 women found that 99% of respondents identified family history as a risk factor for breast cancer. Yet more than 85% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
“It’s important that women don’t think they’re safe just because no one in their family has had breast cancer,” said Dr. Curtis Miyamoto, an SCA cancer researcher and professor at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. “Family history is a risk factor, but it is far from enough.”
Breast cancer occurs most often in middle-aged and older women, with a median age of diagnosis of 63 years. Yet approximately 1 in 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer are under 45 years old.
Breast cancer risk is more complicated than most people think
Garibay said her diagnosis forced her and her family to confront another common misunderstanding: that healthy habits can completely protect someone from cancer.
The diagnosis was particularly confusing for her daughter.
“My little one said to me: ‘But mom, why did you get cancer? You eat broccoli,'” Garibay remembers.
Griselda Garibay
Griselda Garibay Griselda Garibay with her husband and daughter. (Photo: Griselda Garibay)
Miyamoto said healthy behaviors remain important. Exercising regularly, limiting alcohol consumption, and maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of breast cancer, and researchers estimate that more than 30% of breast cancer cases could be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices.
But reducing risk does not mean eliminating it.
The American Cancer Society survey found that many women who understand the risk factors associated with breast cancer have difficulty putting that knowledge into practice.
Miyamoto said there are often real obstacles. Some communities have limited access to healthy foods. Cost may be a concern. The exercise can seem overwhelming for people who juggle work and family responsibilities.
Still, he encourages people not to view healthy habits as an all-or-nothing commitment.
“They say, ‘How much exercise should I do?’” Miyamoto said. “I say, ‘Start with one minute.'”
One minute can become two, then five, then more over time, he said.
The same principle applies to nutrition.
“Guess how many you’re going to get? » said Miyamoto, referring to the human body. “One. One body.”
Fear, culture and priorities
Growing up, Garibay said she often heard loved ones avoid doctors for fear of what they might find.
“There’s always been this stigma,” she says.
The message was familiar: why go to the doctor if he or she might tell you something you don’t want to hear?
“My mother always said, ‘I don’t want to go to the doctor because I don’t want to be told I have cancer,’” Garibay remembers.
Today, his view is very different.
“Knowing is better than not knowing,” she said.
Garibay thinks fear may prevent some women from scheduling mammograms or discussing their concerns with their doctor. She also knows how easy it can be for women to put their own health on the back burner.
“We think about everyone else’s health. We don’t think about our health,” she said.
“As women, we have to put ourselves first, because the whole family is counting on us. »
For Garibay, these lessons became painfully real after his diagnosis.
Within weeks, she was pushed toward menopause due to the aggressive nature of her cancer and her treatment plan. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a lumpectomy. After a short recovery period, she completed approximately 20 radiation treatments.
In total, his treatment lasted approximately nine months.
That’s why she doesn’t like the idea of a mammogram being too uncomfortable or impractical.
“You know what’s going to be hard?” she said. “I’m in chemo. »
“What’s going to be difficult is when you can’t work because you really can’t move or your treatment is going to last nine or ten months.”
Throughout that time, Garibay said one thought kept him going.
“I was a mother first and foremost,” she says. “I had an obligation to show my daughters what a warrior would be like.”
Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society, says there’s a lot to celebrate when it comes to breast cancer awareness — but dense breast tissue can increase the risk of cancer 1.5 to 2 times higher, and most people don’t know where to look for it.
Early detection can make all the difference
More than a decade later, Garibay hopes her experience will encourage other women not to underestimate their own risks just because they feel healthy or don’t have a family history of illness.
A mammogram detected her cancer before it spread.
Miyamoto said this remains one of the most important messages women can take away.
“There are many things in life, many illnesses, that are beyond our control,” he said. “This is something we can control and overcome if we do our part.”
The 5-year relative survival rate for breast cancer detected at an early and localized stage is greater than 99%, Miyamoto added.
“This is a fight you can win.”
Garibay is living proof of this.
More than a decade after receiving her diagnosis on Mother’s Day, she still thinks about the lesson the experience taught her.
The date that once marked the start of one of the most difficult chapters of her life now reminds us why she fought to overcome it.
She wanted her daughters to see what a warrior looked like.
Today, she shares this perspective with others as an Imerman Angels volunteer, providing one-on-one support to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.
And she wants other women to remember what she learned.
“Better to know than not to know.”
Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society, explains three types of breast cancer treatment.
Gn Health
