The University of Arizona Press
Maldito Cáncer
Testimonios of Latinx Solidarity, Love, and Resistance
This poignant collection brings together powerful testimonios from Chicanx and Latinx patients, family members, caregivers, and community advocates who have faced el maldito cáncer. Authors share first-person narratives of illness, fear, love, solidarity, and resilience, illuminating how Latinx communities navigate cancer journeys within a complex and often inequitable health-care system.
The contributors—ranging from students and community members to renowned scholars and artists—offer their stories through essays, creative nonfiction, poetry, bilingual chapters, and drawings.
These testimonios honor the diverse ways Latinxs process and communicate the emotional, physical, and cultural realities of cancer. Each section is framed by a short editor introduction that highlights key themes and invites readers to reflect on the resonant insights each story brings. Across four sections—patient voices, family members, community perspectives, and closing reflections—the book reveals how individuals confront illness with courage and how families and communities create networks of care grounded in culture, love, and collective strength.
Exposing physical and emotional vulnerabilities, instances of pain, suffering, worry, and anguish, Maldito Cáncer also opens a space for healing and connection. It offers a new lens to understanding cancer through culturally informed, justice-centered narratives. These acts of testimoniando offer a gift to us: resistance, connection, and hope.
Contributors
Alfonso Aranda
Cathy Arellano
Estela Mara Bensimon
Cindy Camacho-Gutierrez
Daniela A. Carreon
Angie Chabram
Natalia Deeb-Sossa
Yvette G. Flores
Fran García Vásquez
Jennifer Gottlieb
Osa Hidalgo de la Riva
Ekta Kandhway
Skye Kelty
Jorge Antonio Losoya
Dalia Magaña
Maribel Martínez
Pedro Noguera
Lorraine Ramos
Mónica Torreiro-Casal
Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz
Patricia Zavella
“I have lost parents, family members, and friends to cancer, and read these testimonios as I recovered from breast cancer surgery and radiation and entered the fragile grace of remission. I see myself in these writings—they are like copal and sage for my spirit, medicine that reminds me I am not only a caregiver or a patient but also, above all, a warrior and survivor of maldito cáncer.”—Rebeca Burciaga, co-editor of Chicana/Latina Testimonios as Pedagogical, Methodological, and Activist Approaches to Social Justice
“This book is a must-read for anyone who has been personally impacted by cancer in any way or wants to learn about how it affects people. I learned so much, and it made me cry, laugh, grieve, and hope. It inspired me to write my own family’s testimonio.”—Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr., co-editor of Transmovimientos: Latinx Queer Migrations, Bodies, and Spaces
