Preta Gil says that colorectal cancer is taboo: “People avoid exams”

Singer and businesswoman Preta Gil spoke, on Monday (5), about the importance of early diagnosis for the treatment of colorectal cancer, a subject she classified as taboo.

The Rio native wore a blue look to give an interview on the program presented by journalist Vera Magalhães to raise public awareness about Blue March, colorectal cancer prevention and awareness month.

“We talk little about colorectal cancer because it is a bit taboo to talk about the region where the cancer occurs. I feel this way when I got sick, I felt like people avoided saying that I had rectal cancer and said: 'you have cancer in the final part of your intestine'”, said the “Signs of Fire” singer.

Participating in the Roda Viva program, on TV Cultura, Preta Gil, who was diagnosed with the disease in January 2023, stated that people are afraid of the colonoscopy exam, which can help identify tumors in the rectal region.

“My tumor was quite large, it was already quite extensive. I had to do chemo[terapia] and radio[terapia] to reduce in order to operate”, he said.

“But if we do a colonoscopy, which is a test that everyone is a little afraid of, we can detect colorectal cancer, treat it and the prognosis can be like mine, a cure”, defended Preta.

In December 2023, the singer celebrated the end of her treatment against colorectal cancer and will be monitored by a medical team for at least five years.

Mynd and Shocked

In the interview with Roda Viva, Preta Gil also spoke about the case of Jessica Canedo, who died in December after gossip profiles on social media linked the false information that she had had a relationship with comedian Whindersson Nunes — which he himself artist denied it.

At the time, the fake news was published by the Choquei profile, which many internet users linked to Mynd, a company in which Preta is a partner.

On Monday, the singer declared that, at the time of Jessica's death, Choquei no longer had any ties to Mynd. According to her, the page became part of Digital Banking, a sector of the company that brings together and offers profiles so that brands can activate their brands.

For Preta, the association, which she labeled “fake news”, was made with political motivation and had the objective of weakening her business.

“Then we mapped it out and we saw that there was an extremely political intention in this proliferation of fake news, making a connection between me and what had unfortunately happened to Jessica”, stated the singer.

She also called for regulation of social networks so that people behind pages who commit digital crimes, as in Jessica's case, can be criminalized.

“We have the internet a bit like a lawless land and I think this is serious, we have to look for legal mechanisms to hold us accountable”, he defended.

“There has to be a code that allows us to move around in the virtual world and be held responsible for what we do.”