After breast cancer: "Look at my scars - they are the least problem"
"Look at me!"
Christi Salcedo does not want to hide her scars. On the contrary: With this selfie she wants to specifically direct the view of her breast cancer, which has cost her breasts.
Below she explains why she decided against breast prostheses:
It's time I said this. Take a good hard look at my chest. Do not feel weird doing it. There is nothing sacred or sexual ...
Posted by Christi Lee on Saturday, May 28, 2016Appeal against belittlement: "Cancer is ugly!"
"The time is right for me to say this, look at my chest as long and thoroughly as you want, you do not have to feel funny, there is nothing sacred or sexual to discover.
What it is for you to see is a hollowed out armpit. Breast cancer first spreads to the lymph nodes in the lower abdomen. Mine was under the left arm, so they removed all lymph nodes and a lot of tissue. You may also notice a slightly unsaved incision, because this spot kept coming up after the surgery.
I can understand that solidarity gestures such as pink breast cancer loops give comfort to some people, but I want you to know that breast cancer is ugly. It's not a simple or glamorous cancer that makes you sick. For me, all cancers are the same. Cells out of control, an immune system at the limit.
"I finally wanted to be strong for my children again"
Cancer has taken me a precious part of myself, with whom I once fed my children. It robbed me of part of my sexual identity. (...)
There were many reasons why I decided against reconstruction. Especially because my kids have seen me downstairs long enough. I wanted them to experience me strong again. I wanted them to have the mother they knew again. "
Transgender debate in the US also harms cancer patients
And then Christ comes to the actual reason for the photo: she has become the victim of a problem that has nothing to do with her cancer. In the US, an ideological struggle is currently raging over who is allowed to enter public toilets and who is not. Several laws already prohibit transgender people from going to the restrooms that fit their self-image. And even where such laws do not exist, "concerned citizens" feel called to volunteer as a "washroom police" to control who passes through which door - and immediately stop "wrong" men and women.
Not only is this presumptuous and discriminatory, it also attacks those who, at first glance, do not clearly look male or female "enough". An impudence in which the collar of Christ bursts:
"It hurts us cancer survivors!"
"And until recently I was very pleased with the decision, but ... the big 2016 toilet debate is not just damaging to the transgender community.
It also hurts us cancer survivors. Recently, I notice more and more eyes trying to see through me. In the supermarket, in restaurants - at Wal-Mart it was the worst. I want to scream: YES! You look right! This is breast cancer! Please, just look for yourself! But instead, I look back into her eyes, almost begging that what has become of our society dissolve again. "
"You do not have to agree with me, I do not have to agree with you."
"Personally, I'm convinced that no transgender wants to cause any trouble in public toilets, people just want to go to the bathroom, and terrible things happen in public toilets before the debate, so I'm not letting my kids go to public toilets on their own. You do not have to agree, and I do not have to agree with you, that's okay.
People whose cancer is being treated or treated may have little hair and a baseball cap. You may have a mastectomy, like me.
Please think of all these things. End of the outburst of rage. "
attack is the best defense
Courageous words and a bold photo: Christ knows that she is making herself very vulnerable to this posting, but stands by her opinion and her appeal to humanity.
It is to be hoped that the gesture may at least give some people reason to rethink their actions.
