Crucial CONVERSATIONS

Higher Education professional MARIANA LOSADA had her world turned upside down when she discovered she had to undergo a hysterectomy and a double mastectomy—all within a span of three months. Her journey of se//-discovery and empowerment ed to a mission that united two countries to prioritise women’s health issues and open a women’s health centre in Singapore. Here is her story.

- MARIANA LOSADA

I’ve always been someone who benefited from good health and naturally made no great effort to live a healthy lifestyle. My husband often jokes that it’s easier for me to stay fit, since I usually crave kiwis and vegetables rather than cheese, cakes, and chocolate bars, as he does. As a former gymnast, I exercise regularly and am disciplined in many aspects of my life, including going for annual medical check‑ups. After more than a year of avoiding hospitals because of the Covid‑19 pandemic, I booked a standard health screening with a gynaecologist in March 2021. I often suffer from painful periods, but in all honesty, I thought nothing of it because I always assumed that it was normal for women to experience menstrual pain. I was not prepared for what came next.

My screening revealed that I had a very large endometriotic cyst on my right ovary. I was advised to get it removed to avoid any complications. Never having had any surgery before, the idea of going into an operation theatre terrified me. I was only 42.

I work at the National University of Singapore (NUS), handling international partnerships between France and Singapore, and have many ongoing collaborations with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. So I consulted with Dr Ma Li, an endometriosis specialist at the National University Hospital (NUH). She suggested I get a hysterectomy, an invasive procedure that removes the womb but keeps the ovaries, so that I could still benefit from a good source of oestrogens for a few more years. I had no plans to have more kids; my kids were 13 and 6.