PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – Vanessa Barrera was a little girl in Venezuela when her maternal grandmother, Hercilia De Roberti, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Barrera said she and her mother were heartbroken, but her tough grandmother surprised them all.
She underwent a surgery to remove one breast and received chemotherapy. Barrera said it has been more than two decades since treatment and De Roberti hasn't experienced a relapse. She celebrated her 94th birthday this year as a great grandmother of five.
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De Roberti lives in Barquisimeto, a city with a shortage of food and medications. Barrera lives in West Palm Beach. She is keeping a secret from her grandmother. She was diagnosed with breast cancer March 16.
"I just don't want to break hear heart and worry her," Barrera said in Spanish. "I remember how painful it was for her. She was a coquette who loved doing her make up. She really suffered when she lost her breast."
Barrera said she probably owes her life to her grandmother, who taught her about the importance of performing regular self examinations. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34, six years before the recommended age to start regular mammography.
Barrera is among the wave of Venezuelan entrepreneurs who moved to South Florida running away from the failed socialist policies of the oil-rich country. When her business selling car parts fell apart about four years ago, the engineer decided to move to the U.S. with her daughter Sara.
"We already had some family here, and I feared the shortage of food was going to affect my daughter's health," Barrera said. "I was also worried about the lack of antibiotics and I was having to go from supermarket to supermarket to try to find the basics for her. The situation wasn't sustainable."
Once she was living in Miami-Dade County, family friends introduced her to Edgar Rodriguez, a single dad who owns USA Kitchen, a company that designs and installs kitchens. She said they fell in love, and after a long engagement, wed in September.
About a week before Valentine's Day, she was taking a shower when she performed a self-breast exam. She felt "a little mass." Barrera, who has Molina Healthcare insurance through the "Obamacare" marketplace, talked to her doctor about her family history.
After a mammogram and a biopsy, she learned the "little mass" was cancerous. The invasive cancer cells were feeding on HER2, a protein involved in normal cell growth, and on progesterone and estrogen hormones. Oncologists said they considered her cancer was at stage II, so it had not spread to organs or her lymphatic system. She said she felt lucky to have caught it early.
"I thought about how different this would have all been if I would have been diagnosed in Venezuela," Barrera said. "There are cancer patients who have to cross the border to have surgery and treatment in Colombia. And with the currency devaluation, it isn't cheap. Not everyone can do it. People are dying there."
A surgical oncologist performed a bilateral mastectomy, surgery to remove both of her breast, in May.
"I cried when I learned I couldn't keep the nipples, but my husband looked at me and said that what was truly important was my life and being there for my children," Barrera said. "Unlike my grandmother, who didn't have access to immediate reconstruction, I woke up with expanders," implants that are enlarged with saline injections to stretch the skin.
Barrera started chemotherapy in June. It was a difficult process. Her hair was gone. Every part of her body hurt. She didn't have any energy. There were days when she couldn't do much for her children.
"Cancer is tough," Sara, 7, said.
On Oct. 5, Sara, Daniel and Rodriguez celebrated Barrera's last chemotherapy. She will have surgery to exchange the expanders for silicone breast implants, which are designed to be kept longer and have a more natural appearance. Barrera also expects to complete infusions next year.
"I known my mom is going through a tough moment," Daniel, 11, said. "I hope she will get well soon."
Barrera said dealing with cancer has brought her family together. When she learned another pregnancy would be risky, she said she thanked God for bringing Daniel into her life. Rodriguez, she said, has been extremely supportive. He said he admires her optimism and strength.
"I have learned that there is nothing more important in life than love and family," Rodriguez said.
Barrera said she wanted to share her family's story, because when her grandmother shared her experience, she learned from her. She said it taught her and her aunts to be more aware of the changes in their bodies.
She wants young women to adopt the habit of performing self exams.
"Please don't wait until you are 40 to start doing your self exams and teach your daughters to start the habit young," she said. "As long as you have breasts, you should be familiar with them and know when an anomaly comes up so it doesn't turn deadly."