After more than two decades of treatment and 20 surgeries, Valéria Baraccat continues to denounce prejudice and fight for the dignity of women with breast cancer
For 21 years, Valéria Baraccat’s body has been her battlefield — and also her greatest master. There were six diagnoses of , more than twenty and a sequence of too short intervals between one truce and another. “The body asks for rest, and we need to obey it. If we defy it, it declares war”, he says. The phrase summarizes the learning of a woman who knows every curve of her own pain, but also the limit between surviving and actually living.
Psychologist, journalist and marketing specialist, Valéria discovered that the soul heals more slowly than the skin. The physical marks, she says, are small compared to the invisible ones. “The scars on the body don’t bother me. The ones that really hurt are the ones on the soul.” Even after so many surgeries, he continues to be an example of courage and inspiration, capable of making Brazil look at cancer with less fear — and more humanity.
Cancer that does not show up on the exam
When she talks about “the worst cancer is prejudice”, Valéria does not use a metaphor. After the first, she was approved in selection processes, but barred from admission exams. “The cancer affected the breast, but not to my knowledge”, he repeats firmly. Over the years, he has seen women lose their jobs, marriages and self-esteem. And it was in this void that he built a new mission.
As co-founder and director of the Instituto Arte de Viver Bem, she welcomed hundreds of breast cancer patients, offering assistance, information and affection. “We shared experiences and respect for each other’s stories. I learned that the limit between living and dying is a thread — and that it’s not worth thinking you’re better than anyone else.”
Time, for her, became another measure. The little things — the birdsong, the taste of rice and beans — gained the same weight as the word cure.
But Valéria also learned not to remain silent. He sent one hundred letters to CEOs of large Brazilian companies, asking them to look with empathy at cancer patients. Only two responded. “While first world countries welcome, Brazil still isolates. We have laws that guarantee treatment, but almost none of them are respected.” For her, inequality is the true diagnosis of the country. “The life expectancy of those who are treated by the SUS and those who have health insurance are different universes. This is cruel.”
Faith, pain and reinvention
In January of this year, the sixth diagnosis came — the toughest. A medical error delayed the examination that would have revealed the tumor. When the result finally came, the disease had already advanced to the liver and lungs. “I’m a disciplined patient, I did everything right. But one mistake almost cost me my life. If it weren’t for my faith in God, I wouldn’t be here”, she says.
Faith, in fact, is your fuel. , a devotee of the Holy Trinity and Mary, believes that prayer has measurable power. “Science has shown that the brain vibrates differently when someone is in prayer. Faith helps with healing.”
Today, at 64 years old, Valéria defines herself as a “dream seller”. She wants to see a Brazil where poor and rich women have the same right to healing. “I want to sell the dream of a fair healthcare system, where no one is fired for being sick. Cancer hit my body, but not my knowledge.”
Refuses the activist label. She prefers to be remembered as a citizen who did not give up fighting. “God gave me life, only He can take it away. But until then, I will do my part.”
At the end of the conversation, Valéria smiles serenely and concludes: “I am made of faith, strength and gratitude. And I continue to believe that, as long as there is a woman with the courage to start over, there will be hope.”
Alexandre Hercules is editor-in-chief of Brazil Health (
