Breast Cancer Survivor Shares Nude Selfie To Stick Up For Transgender Bathroom Rights
Christi wanted to highlight an aspect of cancer that some people might not have considered [Photo: Facebook/Christi Salcedo]
Christi Salcedo wants you to look at her chest. So much so that she’s posted a nude selfie of herself onto Facebook. But her reasons for sharing such an intimate shot have nothing to do with vanity and everything to do with raising awareness. Because Christi is a breast cancer survivor and she wants the world to know about cancer and its very real, very ‘ugly’ side effects, including one vital aspect people aren’t even considering.
Following her diagnosis of breast and lymphatic cancer, Christi underwent what she describes as “a very aggressive treatment plan that included a Port-a-Cath, 16 chemotherapy sessions paced very rapidly, a ton of radiation and a bilateral mastectomy.”
Christi shared this image to Facebook showing the ‘ugly’ side of cancer [Photo: Facebook/Christi Salcedo]
Sharing an image to Facebook of her body post-double mastectomy a year after surgery, Christi wrote an accompanying post that she hoped would explain the reality of surviving the ‘ugliness’ of cancer and how her decision not to undergo a breast reconstruction was affecting her life.
“It’s time I said this,” she wrote. “Take a good hard look at my chest. Don’t feel weird doing it. There is nothing sacred or sexual left to see.”
“What is there for you to see is a hollowed arm pit. Breast cancer spreads first to your underarm lymph nodes. Seeing as mine was under my left arm, they removed all of my lymph nodes & a lot of tissue. You may also note an incision that is disfigured as this kept opening up post surgery.”
Going on to share her feelings on her life-saving surgery she explained that it had “robbed me of a precious part of myself that I once nourished my children with. It took away part of my sexual identity.”
The cancer survivor has decided to embrace her scars rather than hide them [Photo: Facebook/Christi Salcedo]
But instead of hiding her scars, the mum-of-two has decided to embrace them. “When I chose to not have reconstruction it was for many reasons but most importantly it was because my children had seen me down enough. I wanted them to see me strong again. I wanted them to have their mother they knew.”
And there was another, equally important, but less discussed, reason Christi wanted to share her post-surgery snapshot. Unless you’ve been hiding in a toilet cubicle for most of this year, the Great Bathroom Debate of 2016 can’t have passed you by. People getting their knickers in a twist (literally!) about where people from the transgender community can and can’t pee.
It probably wouldn’t occur to most people that transphobia would affect breast cancer survivors, but Christi wants people to know that those who have had mastectomies and chose not to undergo reconstructive surgery suffer from this prejudice too and can get caught in the crossfire.
Christi often posts inspirational messages on social media [Photo: Facebook/Christi Salcedo]
“The great bathroom debate of 2016 has hurt more than just the transgender community,” she explained. “It has hurt us survivors. Recently I notice more eyes trying to figure me out. At the grocery store, restaurants…Walmart was the worst. I want to scream, yes! You are seeing it right! This is breast cancer…Please check yourself! But instead I let my eyes meet theirs in an almost plea for a change in what has become our society.”
Urging people to show more sensitivity around the issue, she went on to say “Persons undergoing cancer treatment or post cancer treatment may lack hair and wear a baseball hat. They may have undergone a mastectomy like myself. Please consider these things.”
Christi ends her now viral post, which has over 13K likes, with an important reminder for all of us.
“One thing I do know for DAMN certain is there’s no time to waste. Every day (in the words of Brendon Burchard) We must LOVE. We must do things that MATTER & We must LIVE.”
What do you think about Christi’s post? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
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