Every night, when Colombian journalist and anchor Ilia Calderón gets ready to sit in front of the cameras at Noticiero Univision, she doesn’t put on any more or less makeup than before she noticed the first vitiligo lesion on her skin. “I’m not interested in hiding it because I realize that, as a public figure, I can empower those watching me,” she says. In 2019, Calderón, who had no family history of vitiligo, noticed the first light areas on one of her shoulders. Then the patch got bigger, and more spots appeared on her neck.
After several tests to rule out other diseases, the doctor told her it was vitiligo, which affects about 2% of people worldwide. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system attacks the healthy cells in the body that give skin its color. On June 25, 2002, World Vitiligo Day, Calderón shared her diagnosis with the public. “I was always very honest from the beginning,” she says.
While Calderón has tried different treatments, the fact is that while some of her white patches have recovered pigmentation, others have not, and still others have returned over time. But the most important thing for her is to understand that it’s an incurable disease. “The only sure cure is acceptance,” she says. “It’s being able to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘This is part of me; this is how I am; there’s nothing I can do to change it.’” That’s why she’s calling for tolerance and acceptance. “Nobody likes to be looked at funny,” she says. “This isn’t a contagious disease. This isn’t going to change your life. You are not your skin. I am much more than just a white patch.”
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