Bronx cancer survivor: ‘You are not your breast’
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
“Maybe you don’t have
hair, but you are a woman, a
beautiful woman,” Jacqueline
Abreu, a breast and cancer
survivor, often repeated.
“Maybe you don’t have a
breast, but you continue being
a woman and you are a beautiful
woman.”
Abreu, a Pelham Bay resident,
told this to herself in protest
a decade ago after her boyfriend
at the time – following
her mastectomy – criticized
the way her uneven breasts
looked. He told her a man
would never treat her “like
a woman” because she had a
breast removed. They ended
their relationship, and she decided
to continue on with her
life, starting fresh and loving
herself.
“I’m alive,” said Abreu,
who did eventually undergo
breast reconstruction surgery.
“I’m smiling and I have a
beautiful life.”
Now, the 55-year-old survivor
shares the same sentiment
with people diagnosed with
what they thought was once
unthinkable.
Abreu volunteers with
Montefi ore-Einstein’s Bronx
Oncology Living Daily
(BOLD), which is part of the
integrative oncology program.
The initiative focuses on
treating the “mind, body, and
spirit” to use in conjunction
with patients’ physical cancer
treatments. BOLD offers free
wellness workshops and support
groups, ranging in topics
from nutrition to painting and
even ways to quit smoking.
The BOLD Buddy Program
pairs up cancer survivors like
Abreu with Montefi ore patients
to talk about how they
coped with their diagnoses
and what their lives are like
after overcoming the illness.
Abreu told The Bronx
Times that people have trouble
imagining facing the disease
themselves, just as she did a
decade ago. She had felt a pain
come and go on her left side,
but still waited six months to
get a mammogram – the fi rst
one she had in a few years.
“I see too many women,
that when they hear about cancer,
they say ‘this is only for a
few people,’” she said. “I say
‘no, the lottery for cancer is for
everyone.’”
The mother of two daughters,
Abreu was shocked when,
at the age of 46, she was diagnosed
with cancer because she
had viewed herself as healthy,
hard-working and strong.
“You really think that can’t
be possible,” she added.
Young and middle-aged
people tend to hold a misconception
that they don’t have to
worry about screenings if they
feel healthy, Abreu said. Also,
just the idea of being diagnosed
with cancer is too painful
for some people – they’d
rather not think about it and
avoid getting a mammogram
altogether.
“Go and do it,” she demanded,
for anyone reading.
“And be sure that you are
healthy.”
Abreu also warned of another
misconception regarding
people thinking they don’t
need to get screened because
their results were OK in the
past. So were Abreu’s.
Once the perceived impossible
became reality for her,
she said everything changed.
After her diagnosis, Abreu
stopped working long hours
as a medical home aid and
learned to take time to rest
during the day. Things she
used to care about – her car,
her house, and other material
items – all became secondary.
Her family and wellbeing became
her focus.
Jacqueline Abreu, a Pelham Bay resident and cancer survivor, helps people diagnosed with cancer maintain a
positive mindset by volunteering with Montefi ore-Einstein’s Bronx Oncology Living Daily program.
CHERICO REAL ESTATE
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 6 CT. 15-21, 2021 BTR
“Give the most beautiful
time to your family,” she said.
“Give yourself the opportunity
to be happy with the little
things.”
To Abreu, having a positive
mindset is an extremely
important aspect of coping
with a cancer diagnosis.
“You can’t be sad, because
this illness doesn’t like that,”
she said.
When Abreu speaks with
patients receiving chemotherapy,
she tells them she
knows it won’t be easy, but
they must believe they will
survive. She says to never
give up – and assures them
they will have the opportunity
to not just get better, but
better know who they are.
“You are not your breast,”
she said. “You are not your
hair. You are not your foot or
leg – you are not that. You are
a woman that has feelings,
that has a beautiful life, and
it doesn’t matter that you
have to cut both breasts. It
doesn’t matter. The important
thing is how you feel inside.”
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