Learning To Live After Cancer
Read this blog in Spanish and Portuguese.
Pablo’s childhood was marked by treatments, but also by moments of play and strength that propelled him on the road to recovery.
When I was 2 years old, in 2000, I was living in Chile when I was diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma of the kidney, a rare and aggressive type of cancer. The diagnosis was difficult for my parents and me. I went through 9 months of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, and my right kidney was removed.
In June 2001, when we thought everything was over, the cancer came back. This time, it appeared in my bone marrow.
Once again, I faced months of treatment and pain. We managed to get through it, but the journey was not over.
A long struggle
In 2004, 2 years after completing my second treatment, I was once again living an almost "normal" life. I had started school, and we thought the cancer had gone away for good.
But the same sarcoma returned, this time in my brain. Our lives stopped. We dropped everything to start a new treatment plan, involving chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, and 2 autologous bone marrow transplants.
It was a long, difficult, and painful process.
Just when we got to a calmer place, there was a new relapse in 2006, this time in the thyroid. They had to remove that organ as well.
Although we were able to try living normally again, fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty were always present.
Life-changing questions
After all that we had been through, it was impossible not to ask myself, “What is the meaning of life?”
After having cancer 4 times by the age of 7, I constantly wondered what the future held for me. Would I be able to have a quiet life? Would we ever heal from the fears and traumas caused by this process? What is the point of living like this?
These were questions that my family and I asked ourselves. For a long time, we thought we would never have answers.
Over the years, life began to resume a more stable course. I returned to school, reconnected with friends, and enjoyed sports.
The cancer was gone, but I still carried the memories with me.
My family began volunteering at a pediatric cancer foundation in Chile. Gradually, I joined them. Connecting with other survivors marked the beginning of my healing process.
Turning pain into purpose
Pablo shares the voice of survivors at SIOP (International Society for Pediatric Oncology) to highlight their needs and promote greater awareness in the global community.
In 2019, a new tumor was detected in my cervical area.
The fear returned, but this time I experienced it differently, with greater awareness and maturity.
I realized that I wanted to transform my experience into something useful. I decided to study psychology and specialize in psycho-oncology so that I could support others going through experiences similar to mine.
Cancer taught me to value life, people, and my calling. What came so close to taking my life ended up giving it profound meaning.
Speaking up for survivors
At the Camino Foundation, companionship becomes part of the healing process for everyone.
In 2022, together with other survivors, we founded Luz de Esperanza, Chile’s national network of childhood cancer survivors.
Today, more than 80 survivors work together to raise awareness, support others, and advocate for public policy changes.
We have supported laws such as the “Right to be Forgotten” for cancer patients and the preservation of fertility in cancer patients. Thanks to our work, the voices of survivors are now heard in Chile.
In 2024, together with Childhood Cancer International, we created SURNET, a global network of survivors focused on the needs of those who have had childhood cancer.
That same year, I started working as a psychologist at Fundación Camino, a home that welcomes young people with cancer from across Chile.
Accompanying others in their healing process has helped me heal as well.
Fundación Camino has taught me that although cancer can be difficult, it can also become an opportunity to grow, strengthen the spirit, and find purpose in life.
Life is full of obstacles. Some are overcome, some are not, and some return over and over.
And yet it is the way that we deal with them that makes all the difference.
We can either live in fear or learn from our experiences. We can turn pain into strength and purpose.
After everything I have been through, I understand that cancer did not just mark my life—it transformed it.
Today, I am who I am thanks to everything I have learned, and I am happy to use that experience to help others find hope.
