Stick out your chest: the economy of courage

One of them, Paula, stayed along the way and did not see the result of that wonderful experience. Because Survival is very high, fortunately, but it is not total.

The documentary, produced by Vivir del Cuento Comunicació, cost around 150,000 euros and was created thanks to a collaboration between city councils, foundations and individuals. A perfect example of how public-private collaboration can transform a medical issue into a story of collective hope.

Breast cancer affects one in eight women at some point in their lives. There is no figure that better summarizes its magnitude. But beyond the human impact, Cancer is also a major economic challenge.

The most recent studies place the average cost of treatment between 10,000 and 25,000 euros per patient, depending on the stage of the tumor. If hospitalizations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are included, the average expense in the public system is around 18,000 euros, and can exceed 57,000 in advanced cases.

In Spain, public-private collaboration in health does not always have a good press

To this we must add the invisible costs: breast reconstruction, or MRIs, check-ups and complementary therapies that many patients pay out of pocket. According to the Spanish Association Against Cancer, 96% of diagnosed women assume additional expenses for an average of 3,600 euros, which in many homes translates into difficult decisions. We are not just talking about a health problem, but also about financial toxicity, a term that is already beginning to appear in medical studies.

Faced with that reality, stick out chest remember something essential: that the fight against cancer is not only a question of hospitals and treatments, but of a network, of mutual support, of coordination. The film would not have been possible without the addition of small aid: municipal funds, private sponsorships, anonymous donations.

The figure, 150,000 euros, may seem modest in terms of audiovisual production, but enormous if you think about its symbolic impact. It is the practical demonstration of what happens when Public institutions, companies and citizens align themselves in a common cause.

In Spain, public-private collaboration in health does not always have a good press. It is associated with privatization or conflicts of interest, when in reality it often bridges gaps that the public system cannot cover alone. Foundations such as the Breast Pathology Center (Fundación Tejerina), the MasVita center, the AECC or the FECMA, along with dozens of local associations, support early diagnosis programs, psychological support, employment advice and financing of oncological research.

They do not replace the State: they complete it. They are the social fabric that prevents illness from turning into abandonment. Public-private collaboration should be understood as a way to co-produce well-being, not compete.

The total cost of cancer in Spain exceeds 4.8 billion euros annually, close to 5% of health spending

Breast cancer is also a clear example of the importance of investing not only in drugs, but also in detection and follow-up. A mammogram costs around 50 euros; an MRI, about 250. Detecting a tumor in time can save tens of thousands of euros in treatments and, above all, lives.

But early diagnosis requires campaigns, coordination and closeness. That is where public-private alliances make the difference: they allow us to arrive sooner, with more means and with a language that the administration alone does not manage. And that is why I continue to expect resignations from all those responsible in the Andalusian board.

The total cost of cancer in Spain exceeds 4.8 billion euros annually, close to 5% of health spending. But behind these figures there is something that is not measured in euros: the social value of hope. stick out chest It is precisely that: an exercise in hope converted into a moral economy. Every euro invested in that story produces a return in confidence, self-esteem and collective example.

The mountain that these eight women climb also symbolizes something else: inequality in the experience of the disease and in recovery. Each one has their circumstances, their needs, their way of dealing with each stone in the road.

No one judges. There is only presence and listening. And it is not a minor issue, because sometimes, one of the social challenges is the gaze of the other. A look that is not always empathetic and that many times damages because, in our society, we do not know what do with a woman with a scarf or a scar. We are not prepared to accompany you in pain.

That is why this documentary is so important. Because it can help everyone understand us a little better. What the protagonists of sticking out chest they did with their body, challenge fatigue, challenge fear, trust again, is what we should do collectively with our institutions: coordinate them better, allow them to support each other instead of getting in the way.

Perhaps that is the true economic teaching of stick out chest: that efficiency is not always measured in GDP, but in shared purpose. When a pharmacist, a city council and a group of women decide to row in the same direction, the return is not counted in profits, but in improved lives.

Breast cancer affects us all, directly or indirectly. To the women who suffer from it, to those who accompany it, to those of us who have gone through it or fear going through it.

And it reminds us of something that economics often forgets: that health is not an expense, but an investment. An investment that only works when the State, the company and society recognize each other as allies.

Upon leaving the Congress, I spoke with Mar Comín, one of the protagonists of the documentary, journalist, and partner of the production company Vivir del Cuento Comunicació. He explained to me the ins and outs of the preparation; the good disposition of the doctors involved; the effort of everyone who was involved in one way or another. And I realized that, as in life, the most difficult thing was not climbing the mountain. It was deciding to do it.