Breast Cancer Survivor Uses Her Journey to Advocate for Hispanic Patients

When Maitte Penalver received her breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, it came without warning — and without explanation. Genetic testing revealed no hereditary predisposition, leaving her doctors with few answers. But for Penalver, a mother with a young son at home, the questions that mattered most weren't about origin. They were about survival.

"I am of the mindset just get it done," she said. "But my worry was always him."

Her breast cancer was caught at stage one. She underwent radiation and a course of oral chemotherapy, and by all indications, treatment appeared successful. But during routine annual imaging, an MRI flagged something troubling in her spine. Further testing confirmed a second diagnosis: non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with bone marrow involvement — and it had spread extensively, to her chest, pelvis, and beyond.

"It had been everywhere," she said.

Penalver completed treatment, but in 2020 — in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic — she learned the lymphoma had returned. She underwent bridging chemotherapy before ultimately receiving a stem cell transplant.

Through each chapter of her illness, Penalver credits her support network as nothing short of essential. Friends and family brought food, drove her to appointments, and stepped in to give her son, who was seven years old at her first diagnosis, the chance to simply be a kid.

"Having that group of people — in a variety of areas — was invaluable," she said. "Emotionally, spiritually — someone to just sit there and even pray with you."

Now, Penalver is channeling that experience into advocacy, particularly for the Hispanic and bilingual community. At a recent patient event where she served as a panelist alongside oncologists and researchers, she saw firsthand both the promise of emerging therapies and the gap in culturally accessible resources.

"They get left behind," she said of Hispanic patients navigating a healthcare system that doesn't always speak their language — literally or culturally. "Being a part of this, having this available to them, is important because they feel heard, they feel seen, they find connections."

She also spoke to a shift she hopes to see continue: the destigmatization of a cancer diagnosis within Latino communities.

"Before, cancer was like — oh my gosh, you don't talk about that, that's hidden, that's quiet," she said. "No. The more you talk, the more you help."

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