Ràdio Pati: Live concerts at home during cancer treatment

"I was 28, and my first thought was: I won't make it to 30," says Anna Bacardit, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer two years ago. 

The shock of receiving the diagnosis was very tough, Anna explains. She started a treatment with pills, and despite the changes that come with this kind of treatment, she continued living my normal life. 

"Soon, you learn that 'metastasis' is a word that’s terrifying at first—you think you’re going to die. But then you realize that science has made great advances and there are treatments that can maintain your quality of life. I have cancer, but I don't feel sick," she explains. 

After two years on medication, but still living her normal life, Anna received the good news that the treatment had worked: the cancer had receded, and she could now have the primary tumor removed. 

They scheduled the surgery for June 14. However, this meant she would have to stay home all summer, doing rehabilitation, and then undergo radiotherapy. After two years of living a normal life, it was the first time that cancer forced her to slow down. 

"Although it was good news, the day they told me I would need surgery, I went home feeling sad, frustrated, and in tears," she says. 

Her friend Elias, who was staying at her house because they were supposed to go to a music concert, came up with an idea. 

"He told me: 'Hey Anna, why don't we organize some concerts in your living room?' At first, I thought it was a good idea, but I was focused on the surgery, so we put the idea aside," she remembers. 

After the successful operation, Anna revisited the idea. Since she would spend her rehab and treatment at her parents' home, which has a spacious patio, they thought of organizing a series of concerts there during the three weeks her radiotherapy lasted. 

The name came up quickly: Ràdio Pati, playing on the concept of radio and music, but also nodding to radiotherapy and the patio where the concerts would take place. 

They began reaching out to artists, and soon they had a strong lineup with seven evenings of concerts, featuring double performances each day. 

Among the 14 artists were some of the big names from the Catalan music scene, such as Júlia Colom, Naaz, Carlota Flâneur, Le Nais, and Mujeres. 

"We wanted the tickets to be a donation to cancer research, and people could donate whatever they wanted," she explains. 

They chose to donate all the money they raised to the Metastasis Challenge, an initiative from Barcelona's Institute for Research in Biomedicine to raise €5 million for metastasis research. 

"Our initial goal was to raise €5,000. We estimated we could have about 30 or 40 people on the patio and that people would donate around €15. We reached that goal before the first concert," she recalls. 

After three weeks of concerts, selling out every show, and including speeches from activists and experts to raise awareness on metastatic cancer, Ràdio Pati concluded with a total of €13,270 raised. 

"Ràdio Pati helped me stay active during these months, both mentally, by organizing and producing. But it was also a kind of mental therapy, being with my friends and family, all involved in this project. It gave me a lot of positive energy and distractions, which helped me forget about the hospital for a while," Anna epxlains.

Now, Anna is ready to return to work, looking forward to resuming a normal life after a summer full of emotions. 

Her story is set to make it to the big screen through a short film she created with her brother, filmmaker Pau Bacardit. 

'Com Sempre' - 'As Always' in English, will be cast with Paula Jornet, Anna Barrachina, and Jaume Madaula, portraying the story of Anna and many others who have to face this illness at a young age. 

To learn more about Anna's story and those of other survivors, listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.