Mariela Velásquez: A Story of Self-Love, Strength, and Rebirth
What happens when life forces you to stop? When the body screams what the soul has been whispering.
Mariela Velásquez, a Venezuelan woman, mother of two, immigrant, and warrior, opens her heart to share her journey with breast cancer. A story that doesn’t just inspire—it shakes you, transforms you, and leaves a mark.
“I used to say, ‘I’ll get checked after summer.’ That ‘after’… almost cost me my life.”
At 36, she was diagnosed with precancer in her uterus. Three years later, a lump she found during a self-exam confirmed the unthinkable: breast cancer.
Still, Mariela chose to take that summer trip with her kids, knowing deep down that a storm was coming.
“I learned that I’m not indispensable… but I am essential to myself.”
Mariela is like you, like me. A woman who puts everyone else first. Who delays her check-ups because life doesn’t stop. But cancer doesn’t wait. And she found that out after a four-month delay that changed everything.
That’s when it all began: six rounds of chemotherapy, three surgeries, losing her hair, breast reconstruction, a year of infusion treatments, and now, a rigorous seven-year medical follow-up. All of it faced with a strength only a mother with purpose can understand.
The mirror. The hair. The scars.
The body changes… and so does the soul.
“My kids helped cut my hair. We turned it into a ritual. Because doing it with love was better than watching it fall out in fear.”
Seeing her reflection—no hair, no breasts, no “old” Mariela—was a moment of grief. But also the beginning of a rebirth.
She looked in the mirror and saw a new Mariela: stronger, more conscious, more alive.
Her message is powerful:
Do the self-exam. Don’t put it off.
“If you don’t put yourself first, no one else will.”
Breast cancer doesn’t always hurt. It doesn’t always come with warning signs. That’s why touching yourself can save your life.
If you feel something, don’t wait. Go to the doctor. Make a call. Ask the questions.
Make time work in your favor.
To you, the one reading this:
If you have a mom, a sister, a cousin, a best friend… share this story.
You never know who you might save with just one reminder.
Because 1 in 8 women in the world will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
Because self-love also looks like showing up for your check-ups.
Because you matter.
