Rita Clarissa Santizo, a professional pianist and soprano with the National Choir of Guatemala, has overcome breast cancer after receiving treatment at the Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social (IGSS). Her diagnosis followed a routine mammogram in July 2018, which revealed cancer in her left breast.
Santizo underwent a series of clinical studies that allowed doctors to determine an effective surgical approach. She explained, “When I was told I had cancer, there was fear and worry, but the best thing was having my family’s support and being accompanied by a group of doctors who cared about my well-being from the first moment I arrived at IGSS. They gave me 18 targeted trastuzumab therapies and 25 radiotherapies to destroy the cancer cells.”
She expressed gratitude for the care received throughout her year-and-a-half-long treatment at IGSS’s Outpatient Disease Unit. The type of cancer she faced was HER2-positive breast cancer, considered one of the most aggressive forms due to its rapid cell growth driven by a specific protein. IGSS medical staff performed surgery on her left breast and removed several lymph nodes as part of her treatment.
“The cancer taught me that life is a gift and IGSS helped me overcome it, with support from people who took very good care of me at all times,” said Rita Clarissa Santizo.
Now in good health, Santizo continues to teach piano lessons and credits both God and Seguro Social for giving her what she describes as a second chance at life.
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