Maria, a 42-year-old woman from Guatemala, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She started to feel a mass in her breast a few months ago, right around when she started to lose a significant amount of weight. She has been feeling weak lately, making her both physically and emotionally fatigued. She says that he hardest part for her has been the pain in her chest and back, which has been making it hard for her to sleep at night.
Maria and her husband live with their two kids, Edgar and Juan in a remote indigenous Mayan community in the mountains of Guatemala. Her husband works as a day laborer, harvesting crops only when they is work available–leaving her and her family without a consistent income, living on at most on only a couple dollars per day. Maria stays at home and takes care of her two elementary-school aged children, cooks, and cleans–but lately she has not been able to get out of bed, leaving her family worried and sad.
Maria has been feeling depressed about the severity of her condition, but now that she has a treatment plan, she is thrilled and has regained her desire to live. She is excited to receive chemotherapy, interpretation, and transportation. She has been working with our staff to learn as much as she can about her condition, and is looking forward to improving and being able to continue to be there for her family.