María José Méndez: "If I had been tested when I was supposed to, I might not have breast cancer."

BarcelonaMaría José Méndez lives in Seville. She is 61 years old and, after a successful operation, is undergoing hormonal treatment for breast cancer at the Virgen Macarena University Hospital. Six months passed between the mammogram from the prevention program that detected something was wrong and the time she underwent further tests to diagnose the disease. Now, through the Association of Women with Breast Cancer (AMAMA), she has met other women affected by errors and delays in screenings under the early detection program in Andalusia.

You are one of the women who are joining together to report errors in breast cancer screenings. What was your case?

— I'd had problems since I was young. At 36, I had a tumor removed from my breast. Luckily, it was found in time and there were no malignant cells. When I was 38, my uterus was removed due to lump problems. I had more or less regular follow-ups, and starting at 50, I entered the early detection program. They called me every two years for a mammogram. Normally, they tell you that if they don't notify you with the results in 10 or 15 days, it means everything is fine, but after a month, at most, I usually received a letter indicating that there were no images that were suitable for further review. This has been the case for all these years. The last one that came out without any problems was in 2021.

And then?

— On December 12, 2023, I'm scheduled for my biennial mammogram. I'm very reassured because I haven't received any letters or calls. I think everything's fine, as always. What was my surprise? At the end of May 2024, I received a letter telling me that a questionable image had been seen in 2023 and that I needed to undergo additional tests. It said not to be alarmed, but if they tell you in a letter not to be alarmed, that's the first thing you do. In the same letter, they gave me an appointment for the tests, exactly for June 7, 2024. In other words, six months passed between the time I had my mammogram and the time I had my first additional test.

What did you think when you received that letter?

— Imagine the anxiety, the horror of the misinformation. If only they had warned me sooner... When I arrived for the first additional test, they did a mammogram and an ultrasound. All on the same day. Obviously, they detected it, but the radiologist didn't tell me anything. They are very humane; all the staff I've encountered during my illness have been absolutely empathetic and wonderful, but you can tell something's going on, even if they don't want to tell you. They tell me they need to do a biopsy, and that it usually takes a month for the results.

In that case, did the results arrive on time?

— Yes, 10 days later, they called me from the hospital and told me I had breast cancer. At that moment, you think to yourself, "If I had had the tests done just a month after my first mammogram in December, maybe I wouldn't have breast cancer. I would have had a small lump that could have been removed, and that's that." My life wouldn't have turned upside down like that, because I'm not the same person I was.

Did you then consider that it could go beyond a one-off error?

— At that moment, you don't think about anything. It's like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer. All you think about is surviving. You're facing an illness you don't know about, a process you have no idea how you're going to get through, and treatments you don't know how they'll go and that you're completely unaware of. Here, you don't question whether this was a mistake or not. What you want is to survive. I approached the Amama association after my illness for support. Women who go through the same processes. No one, no matter how much they say it, understands you if they don't go through the same thing. It was later that we started to report the cases in which we felt there had been negligence. We're not politicians; we don't care if the PP, the PSOE, or whoever is in charge. What we want is for this to be fixed. Our fight is for women. For my sister, for my daughters, for my nieces, for my sisters-in-law, for all my friends, for all the women around us.

How has this year and a bit been since you were diagnosed?

— After the operation, which thank God went well, I underwent radiotherapy and then have to undergo hormone treatment for five years. I have four more to go, and the side effects are devastating me. It's destroying my bones, and I have terrible joint pain. I'm also undergoing mental health treatment. Not just for the depression and anxiety; I'm just not the same anymore. I've lost my ability to concentrate, and my memory is terrible. I was in charge of human resources for a company, and I know I won't be able to go back to work, even though I'll turn 62 in three months, because I'm not capable enough. So I think, "If these tests, instead of taking six months, which is inhumane, had been done right after a month, which is when they were supposed to be done, I probably wouldn't have had to go through all this."

Did anyone give you an explanation for the delay in the result?

— No. In fact, when the surgeon told me I had breast cancer, and I explained that six months had passed between the screening mammogram and the additional tests, she was extremely surprised. A real surprise. And she told me: "Don't worry, we'll fix this as quickly as possible." And, indeed, it all happened very quickly. I don't know where the error came from, I just know that it can't happen again. For those of us affected, and there are so many of us, no one is giving us our lives back. Not for those who have died, which has been worse, nor for those who have had their breasts removed. I don't know who, but what we want is for this to be resolved, for it to never happen to any woman again. We want the protocols to be implemented, not for them to exist, but for them to be real. They should give the answer in a month and perform the additional tests. Because time, for us, is a matter of life or no life. And I'm one of the lucky ones, because I'm telling you this.

How did you feel when you saw that so many people were affected?

— A lot of pain, above all, and a lot of helplessness. I cried a lot with my colleagues. It was very traumatic. Not only reliving our illness, but realizing that we might not be like this. Perhaps cancer wouldn't have been avoided in all cases, but right now there are many women who had mammograms a year, six months, eight months ago, who are experiencing such anguish I don't even want to think about. To think that they thought they had nothing and now they're wondering if they have it and haven't been told, is terrible.

What would you like to happen now?

— I hope that tomorrow, healthcare will get up and running and immediately begin performing ultrasounds and biopsies on women who need them. Let's not wait; time is of the essence. If they must hire radiologists, let them hire them. Let them find them under every rock, but let them do it. I want the tests to be done, for screening to continue, and for early detection of breast cancer to be real. We're talking about life or death. A good or very bad life, which is what most cancer patients have.