Villarreal-Garza, Cynthia Mayte

Cynthia Mayté Villarreal Garza dedicates her work to Mexican women diagnosed with breast cancer. She has two objectives: to achieve a timely diagnosis and to administer appropriate treatments that increase patients' chances of cure. In addition, she promotes initiatives that help these women maintain an adequate quality of life during the trajectory of their illness in order for them to continue with their lives strengthened. She is Director of the Medical Oncology Department of the Breast Cancer Center at Zambrano Hellion Hospital. Balancing her career as a physician with her interest in research, she has taken practical action to improve the care and education of patients, with whom she establishes a close relationship of guidance and support. As Director of the Joven & Fuerte program, Dr. Villarreal Garza promotes comprehensive care for young breast cancer patients and their families. Likewise, she contributes to the direction of the Alerta Rosa program of the MILC Association (Doctors and Researchers in the Fight against Breast Cancer), seeking to reduce healthcare times by categorizing and prioritizing women with breast symptoms or abnormal studies. Likewise, she established the Genetic Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Program in TecSalud hospitals, which provides access to genetic tests to low-income populations, with an impact on the implementation of strategies to reduce the risk of breast cancer. She has published more than 150 indexed articles, is a member of the National System of Researchers, level II, and serves as leader of the Breast Cancer Working Group of the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group. She has been recipient of the ASCO International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award 2022, the XXXI "Miguel Aleman Valdés" Award in the Health Area and the Woman Tec in Health Award and belongs to the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico and the Mexican Academy of Medicine. Sciences. Her projects dedicated to improving the living conditions of breast cancer patients in Mexico have received funding from CONACYT, Susan G. Komen, SPARC MCB Challenge, and Avon Mexico, among others. Dr. Villarreal Garza is a prominent member and secretary of the Breast Cancer Group of LACOG (Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group), a multinational organization of Latin American oncologists dedicated to clinical and translational research. Dr. Villarreal Garza has participated in the 2013, 2015 and 2021 volumes of the Lancet Oncology that discuss the challenges in Latin America in relation to cancer. She is currently a member of the Lancet Breast Cancer Commission and the Latin American Code against Cancer of the IARC (International Agency Research on Cancer), along with other world-renowned clinicians and researchers. In the academic field, Dr. Villarreal Garza seeks to contribute to knowledge about breast cancer through the effective development of clinical research protocols. Her mentoring skills and endeavors also enable her to improve the care of breast cancer patients through the training and mentoring of future oncologists and breast cancer medical experts. Dr. Villarreal Garza is an opinion leader and reference on breast cancer both in Latin America and worldwide. She currently continues her academic and scientific work with the aim of promoting and leading diverse lines of research on breast cancer at the institution.