TOThe storms of life, whether you like it or not, you have to go through them, only in this way do they become “after”, in the natural human desire to move forward. Laura Boldrini her storm faced her in full lockdown, when she was diagnosed a chondrosarcoma in one lega rare tumor discovered by chance and that today the deputy tells in Better than yesterday, the disease and that incurable will to live (Piemme).
Laura Boldrini: Better than yesterday, the book
The title recalls the motto of one of the doctors who followed the author in her treatment path. And the former Speaker of the Chamber, in fact, never let go and the great desire to do with her did not fail even a few days after her intervention: «When it seemed impossible to me to go back to moving with agility, not needing crutches and being able to be autonomous“, tells. Today those fears have vanished. “A year later I can say that it can be done, it has been a long and difficult journey, but it is possible to succeed in this undertakingnow it’s OK”.
The cover of the book “Better than yesterday” by Laura Boldrini, published by Piemme17 euros.
He defines illness as a “condition of life”: how important was it to tell about it?
Reordering moods was therapeutic. A book was not in my plans, then when they proposed it to me I thought about it and I realized that it would be useful for me and, I hope, also for others. I wrote it to share a difficult moment and to make it clear that one must live the disease without hiding, openly, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Laura Boldrini © Erica Fava / Mondadori Portfolio.
Whether it is a physical or mental illness, it is often difficult to talk about it: what idea did you get?
There is a social stigma on the tumor, it is considered a factory defect, an indelible stain, it refers to an extremely negative perception. In many cases, however, it can be cured and everything must be done to eliminate the discrimination that still persists today against cancer patients.
Cancer oblivion, right to normality
Like the bill on the right to be forgotten presented to the Senate by Senator Paola Boldrini?
That’s right, I support legislative initiatives like this one, which, moreover, is linked to a resolution of the European Parliament: ten years after recovery, it is no longer possible to refer to a person’s state of health in the event that a credit is needed in the bank, of an insurance policy or want to adopt a child.
The issue of adoption for those recovered from cancer was also recently raised by showgirl Carolina Marconi.
Yes, and in hindsight, since it is one of the discriminatory conditions. Today, thanks to prevention and new therapies, there are more chances of recovery, every year – according to the latest data – 3% more. So there must also be an acknowledgment by the banks, which today do not grant mortgages and credits, by the insurance companies, which do not take out policies for those who have had this disease, and by anyone else. In short, with this book I would also like to contribute to a battle of civilization, which also includes a parliamentary commitment to affirm the rights of people who have recovered from a tumor. I have subscribed to one motion in the House on this issue: we must use all the tools we have at our disposal to achieve the goal.
“The disease hit a leg, a symbol of mobility”
At first he had a total rejection of the disease.
I was hoping there had been a diagnosis error or an exchange of documentation, I did not mentally conceive the idea of being ill with cancer. Yet I should have, since there had already been other cases in my family. I have always led a dynamic, almost hectic and fast-paced life, and I never thought I had to stop because of an illness. That’s why it was difficult to accept it. Especially since the tumor has hit a leg, a sign of mobility, which is one of the characteristics of my lifestyle.
It hit her in her very essence.
It struck me in an important area of my life. However, then I took note of the reality that has arisen. I didn’t discount and I was afraid. In fact, there were so many things that could have gone wrong. When you walk into the operating room you really think about everything, even the worst.
Did having known the disease with your sister and her mother somehow prepared her?
For nothing. My sister made a choice that was inconceivable to me, I did not accept the idea of her letting go, I could not imagine that a woman at only 46 would not even try to fight, but surrender herself to the “will of God”, as she used to to say. She made me shiver. My mother, on the other hand, had a great joy in living; she solar, charismatic, beloved, she could still have given a lot, her disappearance has annihilated us.
The diagnosis, in full pandemic
The diagnosis came in a difficult collective time, that of the pandemic, which also gave rise to special human relationships.
I met my neighbors and my neighbors during the lockdown, as has happened to so many others who live in big cities, where you barely greet each other without ever knowing each other. A nice thing happened, we started socializing by the window to exorcise the anxieties of those days. A totally unusual collective moment, lived by trying to get courage together and share a moment of the day; it was the only form of contact, even if at a distance. We remained friends, and it is no coincidence that the book begins and ends with them.
The disease “brings out the frailties hidden under armor skilfully constructed over the course of a lifetime.”
At a certain point, the armor is no longer needed because you are facing an internal “enemy”. In the book I made a comparison with the risks I experienced in the years I worked in United Nations agencies and the risks of cancer. In situations of conflict, danger can be identified and avoided, in illness you carry it within you. In the second case it is much more complicated to dodge it, to be safe, because it’s like a part of you wants to destroy everything else. It is a war that develops within your organism and the outcome of which is not predictable.
Laura Boldrini’s desire to do, stronger than everything
Do you feel changed?
Today I am the same as always in the way I face everyday life: I do many things together. I did not allow the disease to affect my interests, my way of being, civic and political commitment. Even when I was in the hospital I tried to work. I followed the hearings of the Foreign Commission 15 days after the intervention. This is because in the first place I have responsibilities and secondly because I think it is counterproductive to focus too much on the disease, it leads to victimization. Of course, at first I had difficulty adapting to the new condition: I was slow, each movement took a long time, I couldn’t even dress myself and all this gave me great discomfort.
On an emotional level, today I am more attentive, sensitive to the issues of the disease. It is not hypochondria, mind you, it is attention to the problems of those who are ill. However, despite this hard experience, I remain optimistic. I was bad, I got over it, it goes on.
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