‘I have art where I used to have pain’: actress Lorena Meritano visits Guayaquil with a ‘Survivor’ speech, created after overcoming breast cancer

The face of an Argentinian actress Lorena Meritano In Ecuador and other Latin American countries, he is remembered for his special role, that of an antagonist Dinora Rosalesfrom the Colombian soap opera The passion of the Hawks (Telemundo and Snail, 2003); although he remembers his participation in the Colombian-Ecuadorian production even more fondly Housewives (RCN and Teleamazonas2007), which paired her with Ruddy Rodríguez, Geraldine Zivic, Ana María Orozco, Marisol Romero and Sofia Vergara.

“housewives It was fantastic, a real miracle for me,” she says, having recently arrived in Guayaquil, in an interview with EL UNIVERSO. He admits that he has a preference for that series because They allowed him to speak with an Argentinian accent, after years of acting with a neutral accent, which he had to take classes for when he started his career in Mexico, in 1992. “It’s very difficult; Instead of devoting yourself to acting, you’re thinking about accent.”

He played Mexican characters (as in Eco fashioncontinuation Ugly Betty) and Colombians. Besides that housewives He loved the costumes (“much more realistic”), acting with “unbelievably beautiful” women from Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina, and the acting tone: “A comedy in which I have a lot of fun“.

This weekend, Meritano landed in our city not for a performance, but for participating in The first wellness congress for her2 Positive awareness about breast cancer, which will be attended by experts from the fields of psychology, dermatology, integrative medicine, nutrition, mastology and oncology. And between them, a conversation Survivors of Lorrainewhich she has been giving in the countries of the region since 2018 to tell about her experience with the one she calls her teacher, breast cancer, a diagnosis she received in 2014.

Survived It started as a “very masterful” speech he gave on social media to his followers, but now healthcare companies want to replicate his voice. “It is a testimony that speaks of life, not cancer,” says the model and artist. “I am talking about my family, origins, profession, loves. And of course I’m talking about the cancer diagnosis, the therapies I received and how I was able, with great help from God and medicine and many tools, to get up and write a book also called Survivedpublished by Penguin Random House in 2019.

It’s a story to share, he insists. “I don’t give advice. This is to warn about prevention, awareness and above all to tell people this “There is life after cancer and it can be better than before if you really use adversity to make a difference.”

She identifies a lot with the reactions of the public, people who, like her, have gone through adversity. “Family groups, because cancer is not a disease exclusively for the patient, but for the family. We hug each other and give each other love, understanding and encouragement to move forward, because I don’t romanticize cancer,” he points out, adding that the focus of his message is to spread the word that there are many tools and that we must ask for help.

Loneliness, flexibility and acceptance, lessons learned from breast cancer

Going through the cancer process alone is hard. Lorena Meritano’s support network includes her family, mother, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, unconditional friends and doctors who accompany her to this day. “We are a great team, with God at the head, because I believe in God. Me too, because “I won’t take credit,” he adds. I chose to live, and to live alone, that is: I am alone, I am fine with myself, but I have a support network“. There are your therapists, reiki teachers, family constellation teachers, and vegetarian nutritionists (follow that regimen, with some flexibility).

And your dear people from social networks. “They prayed for me. They sent me photos from the Western Wall, the Basilica of Guadalupe; They sent me pictures… Love in different forms. The salvation of a human being happens collectively and I always felt followed, always.”

Cancer, he believes, was a teacher in flexibility in dealing with changes. “What is this for? What do I have to change? My hours of sleep, my diet, my relationships, seeking psychological help. And leave the illness to the doctors, pay attention and have faith in yourself, in God, in the experts.”

Another learning is acceptance. “Faced with any kind of adversity, you have to accept it. Don’t organize a party, but accept it. Learn to live with yourself. And to receive – he emphasizes – because it was very easy for me to give; I like to give, help, bring people together, but I learned to receive with gratitude, feeling that I deserve it.”

Although surviving cancer is, according to Meritan, extraordinary, she wants to be objective. “There are scars, pains, fears, and they have to be treated every day, one day at a time. The most beautiful task I had was to build a healthy mental, emotional and physical life. We have to understand the importance of examination, self-examination, our habits and that it can happen to anyone.”

For now, Meritano is free from disease; his last exams went well. As for the many operations she had, she sighs, says there were many: mastectomy, removal of lymph nodes, ovaries and other organs. “And it’s not just physical, to be left without hair, without breasts, without the biological ability to be a mother, without savings, without the ability to work and, at some point, without a partner. “It’s been a painful process, but I also feel like I’ve gained a lot more than I’ve lost.”

Physiotherapy, psychological support and watching her pain threshold increase were crucial for her. She also knows she is privileged to have been able to receive reconstructive surgery. “When I had my left breast removed, I had surgery and I was lucky that my pre-paid meds covered it.”

Then he made another aesthetic decision. She requested an areola tattoo from artist Diego Staropoli, founder of Mandinga Tattoo, which does free designs on the skin of women and men who have survived breast cancer.. “It was very nice to renew myself. I tattooed butterflies, twigs and flowers on my mastectomy scars and say I now have art where I used to have pain.”

Still, he thinks, he loves his scars. “They tell us stories of bravery, of bravery, as the Colombians say. I chose that way (reconstruction), but privilege does not cloud my empathy; I understand that many women in the world cannot do this and many others do not want to do it. The health systems of Latin America owe us; It is a right that a person who has undergone a mastectomy can have a reconstruction, because it helps a lot emotionally and psychologically. “I know people without reconstruction (surgery), but with divine tattoos.”

And yet, he insists, the recovery process is internal, deep, and then physical. When asked if her current beauty is a reflection of her inner state, she pauses, thanks, thinks, and then affirms in the affirmative: She considers herself a beautiful woman. “All women are beautiful.”. I believe that I am empathetic, compassionate, loving, generous, most of all authentic, with many flaws, like all human beings, but I am dedicated to building the woman I am no longer. I was brought up in machismo, where women criticize each other, but me I don’t judge or express my opinion about other people’s lives and bodies, neither in my private life nor on social media, and this has cost me distance from many groups of friends.. “I try to build a life in accordance with what I think, feel, say and do.”

From its website, it recommends adequate nutrition, revision of sleep hours, monthly self-examination, gynecological examinations and mammography. “Above all, keep your emotions and your head balanced. There are people who think it is good to meditate; For others, therapy is good for us. binding and expressive movement classes, as I do; and therapeutic support always, because life is constantly changing.” Furthermore, he asks not to fall into the carelessness of swallowing symptoms.

Currently working. Just participated in Absent voicethe Star+ projectand represented until recently girls in the afternoonfrom Network channel (Argentina). was working castings in Colombia and Mexico. And he doesn’t leave health conferences, like this one The Her2 Positiva Congress, which will take place this Tuesday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Mall del Sol, Ruby room. Entrance is free, but the number of places is limited. (F)