THE STORY OF… In 2012, while she was the star face of the weather forecast on TF1, Évelyne Dhéliat was struck by breast cancer at the age of 64. An illness that she wanted to keep quiet, but against which public support ultimately proved essential.
In the spring of 2012, the woman who had just been crowned “French’s favorite weather presenter” was struck by breast cancer. Luckily, Évelyne Dhéliat was able to receive treatment quickly and take advantage of the summer to receive treatment. “For me, everything came together,” she recalls for Paris Match on the occasion of the new edition of Pink October. “I had surgery in June, then I followed chemotherapy treatment during the summer and started radiotherapy at the start of the school year. »
Very concerned about preserving her private life, Évelyne Dhéliat had chosen to keep quiet about her illness, hoping that the fact that her absence took place in the summer would protect her from questions from viewers. But her return to the air having been delayed several times, she made the decision, in agreement with TF1, to announce her illness in a press release before her return. “Writing this press release was a form of respect and friendship towards the viewers who, no longer seeing me on the air, were worried about me,” she explained to Paris Match at the time.
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In return, Évelyne Dhéliat remembers today having received “many messages of support from women who were going through the same ordeal”.
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Godmother of the Pink Ribbon association
When she took off her wig, “because [ses] little hair was long enough”, Évelyne Dhéliat was particularly moved to receive letters from patients telling her they had done the same. “It was poignant,” she confides. These are really important messages because I realized that I was bringing something to all these women who were going through the same thing as me. And I must say that the viewers have also given me a lot. »
More generally, the simple fact of having returned to TF1 helped Évelyne Dhéliat a lot in her fight against breast cancer. “At that time, I did my radiotherapy sessions in the morning and then I went to work,” she recalls. And that was very important, not only because my mind was occupied by something else, but above all because I proved to myself that I was capable of continuing, of moving forward. Work and colleagues are part of the cure. »
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When the Pink Ribbon association asked her to become a godmother, ten years after overcoming the disease, the presenter hesitated for a long time. And it was ultimately the scientific body that convinced Évelyne Dhéliat to get involved, as she told us last year. “Doctors explained to me that it was very important for public figures to talk about the importance of prevention, because it is a word that is heard more, and this convinced me not to stay in my corner. » Since then, Évelyne Dhéliat has renewed her support for the association behind Ruban rose twice.
