Jorge, Javier and Joseba begin today from Baiona an emotional pilgrimage to Santiago to honor the memory of their wives, who died from cancer, and raise crucial funds for research into childhood sarcoma.
Baiona, Galicia – United by the immense pain of loss and the indestructible force of love, Jorge Pascual, Javier Silva and Joseba Bastida They embark on an extraordinary journey today. These three men begin a 125-kilometer pilgrimage from Baiona to Santiago de Compostela, not only as a tribute to their wives —Raquel (39 years old), Estela (41 years old) and Arantza (49 years old)—, taken away by cancer, but also with a purpose of solidarity: raise funds for childhood sarcoma research who leads the CRIS Against Cancer foundation.
The idea came from Jorge, whose wife Raquel (diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma) dreamed of doing the Camino. «I met Raquel ten years ago, precisely in Santiago. We had two children, and after the second, in October 2021, a lump in the uterus turned out to be a myosarcoma," says Jorge, whose "ordeal" included chemotherapy, radio, and the appearance of metastases. It was through Asarga (Galician association of sarcoma patients) that Raquel met Arantza, Joseba's wife, at the San Carlos hospital in Madrid. Both, united by the same disease (leiomyosarcoma), forged an unbreakable friendship.
Joseba remembers the hard news from Arantza in October 2022: «He underwent surgery for a fibroid, but came out with the surprise of a leiomyosarcoma. In less than a month I already had metastasis in the lung. Despite attempts at treatment, Arantza died in Madrid, but the friendship between the families endured. When Jorge proposed this challenge, Joseba did not hesitate: "I was very excited that he shared this challenge with me and I joined."
Javier, a close friend of Jorge and Raquel, also joins this moving initiative. his wife, Wake, died four years ago at 39, a victim of aggressive breast cancer diagnosed during the pandemic. «She was a superhero, she carried it very well until the end, but unfortunately it metastasised and in a year she was taken away. “It was all very fast,” shares Javier. For him, this Path is an opportunity to "get ahead" of the pain and provide help to patients with rare diseases such as sarcoma, "which can touch us all closely."
«In the end the three are linked and this is a way to honor them. I am proud of Jorge and this initiative. He is a guy with a huge heart, everything is learning at his side," says Javier, visibly moved.
A Symbolic Journey to Hope
The emotional match will take place today at 5:00 p.m. from the church of Santa Liberata in Baiona, with the presence of Mayor Jesús Vázquez Almuíña. The pilgrims hope to arrive in Vigo this very night. The challenge is sponsored by the journalist Silvia Jato, the Galician actor and director Rubén Ríos, and the footballer Fran Beltrán of Celta de Vigo.
The Minister of Health, Antonio Gómez Caamaño, will join a section of the route and will participate in the emotional arrival at the Plaza del Obradoiro next Sunday July 13, a date of great symbolism as it coincides with the International Sarcoma Day. At 12:00 p.m., a rally will be held under the motto «More research for Sarcoma».
The three pilgrims have launched a fundraising campaign through the website of CRIS Against Cancer. Donations will go entirely to the project CAR4SAR, a pioneering clinical trial that investigates the treatment of childhood sarcomas using CAR-T cells, developed at the CRIS Advanced Therapies Unit of the La Paz Hospital in Madrid.
This Camino is a cry for life, a tribute to eternal love and a ray of hope for future generations, demonstrating that unity in pain can become an unstoppable engine of change.
Guide to Sarcoma: Sarcoma is a rare and aggressive type of cancer that affects soft or connective tissues and bones. With more than 70 subtypes, its low incidence and diversity complicate diagnosis and treatment, making it a field with an urgent need for research, especially in advanced therapies. It represents 1% of malignant tumors in adults and 1.5% in children, its silent growth being a factor that often leads to diagnoses in advanced stages.
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