by Catena Fiorello
I have been following Bianca Balti on social media for a few years because I have always liked her frankness, the open and engaging way of publishing her shots, taken between Italy and the rest of the world. As a top model that she is, she often finds herself in wonderful places, where many of us would happily go, even if just for a few days. Ultimately, virtual reality represents nothing more than a great sharing, sometimes interesting, other times less, of some moments of one’s life.
Yet, it is the last photos that Bianca published, where she talks about her illness, that made me get to know her betteror. And the setting was certainly not a beach in the Maldives, or the wonderful nature on a safari in Africa. The background in which she was the protagonist was a hospital room, where she had been admitted for the removal of a third stage ovarian tumor. Some time before, in 2022, she had received a diagnosis of a BRCA1 genetic mutation, which indicated a high exposure to the risk (or probability) of breast and ovarian cancer. Which is why, hoping to significantly reduce that eventuality, on December 8 of the same year she underwent bilateral mastectomy surgery in a hospital in Los Angeles. A year later you know what happened.
The fact that she exposed herself personally, also accepting criticism from those who follow her (and thinks she always has the truth in her pocket), in my opinion has many positive aspects, among which highlight how important prevention is. Even if not all cases of cancer are 100% curable – and this must be underlined so as not to create illusions – it is more essential than ever to insist on the need to help research, so that more and more pathologies find an adequate response. The photos published a few days ago on Bianca’s Instagram account took me back in time, to when, in a room on the seventh floor of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic – Department of breast and breast noise treatment, directed by Professor Riccardo Masetti -, I was there too, waiting to be operated on. It was May 2018. The surgery was a watershed moment in my life. In those hours that seemed interminable to me, waiting for the nurses to come and collect me to take me to the operating room, a thousand thoughts passed through my head, I recited my prayers, because even relying on something superior helps the soul.
Observing Balti these days, I no longer saw the character, but the person in her fragile and magnificent human form looking for comforta benefit that she also tries to offer to those like her who are going through a hard time. And perhaps, given that as a top model and economically successful woman she speaks from a fortunate position (this is one of the criticisms that have been leveled against her), it would be appropriate to delve deeper into the issue. We cannot close our eyes to just and sacrosanct complaints, because we must admit that not everyone can afford the same healthcare procedures. And I understand the point of view of those who shout this truth. The tortuous process that you find yourself facing when you decide to access standard check-ups is clear for all to see, by calling booking centers that give you an appointment even two years later, confirming the fact that the diagnostic tests called lifesavers are not accessible to most people.
And so, instead of criticizing Bianca and those like her who bear witness to a painful journey, albeit from a privileged position, (but there are many of us who appreciate their sincere intent to contribute to the cause), let’s enhance the method of public dialogue, because it allows us to focus a beacon on the importance of prevention in any economic condition. May these testimonies be a vehicle for change to more easily access the necessary tests, pushing those who administer Italian public healthcare to realize how health is not a benefit for the benefit of a few, but a sacrosanct right of all. And if Bianca greets us smiling from a photo, we should translate that image as a hymn to hope. But to ensure that the latter is transformed into something more concrete, we need to move from promises to facts. Only in this way will the words of those who invite us to protect our bodies not fall on deaf ears and be lost in the sea of useless blah blah blah. My appeal is also that the many invitations do not remain just a nice post on social media and nothing else.
IPA Photo
