“Gracias, Wellness Community!”

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My name is Loreto Martinez.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002.  I had my first of several surgeries in January 2003.  My surgery was followed by chemotherapy and radiation.  Soon after my immediate treatment I found myself being very depressed. 

I was referred to The Wellness Community-West Los Angeles, where I have been participating in the Spanish-speaking support group at California Hospital.  The Wellness Community-West Los Angeles has several offsite locations at different hospitals in the Los Angeles area.  These offsite locations allow people who perhaps cannot travel to Santa Monica to receive help. 

I am so grateful that these groups are offered in Spanish.  In Spanish, I am able to better express my fears and emotions since it is my first language.  I would not feel comfortable or be able to fully communicate in an English-speaking group.  When I was diagnosed with cancer, I needed hope and support in my own language and with people who understood what I was going through.  Not only did TWC-WLA provide this, but it also assisted me with decreasing my feelings of depression regarding my cancer and gave me the opportunity to talk about my emotional fears about cancer.  

I was one of the first members of this group and have attended regularly every week.  When people attend for the first time, depressed and frightened as I was, I try to help them and make sure that they know that this group is a safe place to cry and to laugh. This is very important to me to give back in this way.  I was and continue to connect with others who have also experienced many of the same feelings and thoughts that I have had.  Through the group, I have also participated in educational workshops (such as, “Ask The Doctor” in Spanish), which have answered many of my continuing questions.

The members of my TWC-WLA group have given me the compassion and the strength to go forward in my life.  “Thank You, Wellness Community!”