“Cancer is experienced as a couple. And it’s powerful to experience that! » says Camille Lacourt. With Alice Detollenaere, their paths crossed, intertwined then almost separated before merging. A story of love… and humor between two champions of self-deprecation. At home, in Marseille, we first meet the ex-Miss Burgundy mounted on springs. She gets into a Fiat 500 to take their son, Marius, 3 years old, in daycare, and Jazz, 11 years old, the daughter of Camille and his ex-wife, Valérie Bègue, at school. She will return with a profusion of pastries and a confused smile: “I had a problem with the gearbox. Fortunately the Marseillais are forgiving! »
It is snuggled up on the sofa with Sumo, their dog, that she begins her story: “When I received the phone call telling me I had cancer, I suddenly went down twelve floors! I was not excpecting that at all. I was 32 years old, the story with Camille was beginning, we had moved in the day before. I had discovered a lump, but on the mammogram and biopsy, I was assured that I was too young for breast cancer. » She emphasizes that this idea, as erroneous as it is conducive to diagnostic delays, persists among certain doctors. “I was a lingerie model. My body was my livelihood and, by extension, fueled my self-confidence, including in my relationship since I was with a super handsome man. I risked losing everything. » The diagnosis also finds a sinister echo in his family history: “Ten years ago, I had lost an aunt to breast cancer even though we had believed in her recovery. Since then, we were choked with grief, to the point where we could no longer pronounce his name. »
After the removal of her second breast, in March 2022, she posted this image to encourage women in her case. “So proud of you,” comments Camille.
© DR
Believing that her illness will perhaps be too heavy for Camille to bear, she offers to leave her. But he is “madly in love”, as he will tell us. So he stays. Sharing three months of grueling waiting until the mastectomy and the verdict: no need for chemo or radiotherapy! The ex-swimmer has already gone through the hellish abyss: two depressive episodes, when he narrowly missed the Olympic podium and then when his career ended in 2017. Since then, he has had a huge phoenix tattooed. as a reminder: yes, we can be reborn from the ashes!
Camille Lacourt gets involved with sick children with the Marseille association Sourire à la vie
As for cancer, the cause is already close to his heart. He is involved with sick children with the Marseille association Sourire à la vie. During treatments, appropriate physical activity is a weapon of choice against muscle wasting and, paradoxically, fatigue caused by chemotherapy. The god of pools proposed a challenge to the children: to train to succeed in an arduous exercise the day before one of his championships: “I received a video where they showed me their feat and shouted that, since they succeeded, I could win me too! I get chills talking to you about it. Even today, when I participate in Fort Boyard, it is for them. »
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In the months following her diagnosis, Alice remained devastated by the anxiety of waiting: “I used to run three to four times a week for goals: a marathon or a professional shoot. There, I was frozen. » The healing will prove to be a long process, with an ordeal that almost overwhelms the couple. “We don’t expect it, but the end of treatment opens a dangerous period,” confides Camille. After the fight against cancer, we believe that we will return to our previous lives. In fact, those who emerge from illness are like soldiers who return from the battlefield in a state of shock. It’s even worse for those whose bodies have been damaged by chemo. In all cases, the fear of relapse can be obsessive: at the slightest pain, it is impossible not to think of cancer. We almost broke up, that often happens at that point. A gap opened up between us because I plunged back into work while Alice remained traumatized and could no longer project herself. »
The past which does not pass swallows up any notion of the future. Against astonishment, physical mobilization will prove to be the best anti-poison. One step in front of the other. Six months after his diagnosis, the ex-model returned to sport: “The first time, I thought I could do the big 14 km tour that we were used to. My muscles had melted, I was bothered by tightness in my chest… I lasted 2 kilometers, but I cried with joy : I came back to life !”
Alice took up the sport again: “I only lasted 2 kilometers. But I cried with joy, I was coming back to life! »
Convalescence as a pair: in October 2021, they participate together in a two-day raid on the island of Oléron.
© DR
As for the couple, they will find their feet by sharing sporting challenges that are as exciting as they are adapted to Alice’s condition. “As a companion,” comments Camille, “I have noticed that it feels good to dream, to give yourself a goal other than just survival. » Latest epic to date: the Verticale des fous, a triathlon of 3,000 meters of altitude difference in Reunion, in December. The ex-athlete swam in the lagoon, climbed the first 1,500 meters by bike, then Alice joined him for the final climb, on foot. “We like to give our all,” he confides. But during preparation, we never put negative pressure on ourselves. Last week I couldn’t run, too bad. »
Goodbye to the tortures of overtraining, when he spent “300 days a year with aches”! Camille has changed gear and is focusing on well-being. “Physical expenditure contributes to balance, helps relieve the mental load that we all suffer from with our connected lives. We never go to bed having answered all the emails and messages. Today, with my family, I worry less about the idea of burning out again, but I remain vigilant. If I can’t fall asleep after a busy day, I run for half an hour to get a good workout. »
Above all, he delights in riding with the family on the Corniche de Marseille or in the Calanques massif: jogging for Alice and him while Jazz rides a bike and Marius in “the running stroller”, as his parents laughingly nickname this equipment. enhanced: “It closes a little to protect from the sun,” explains his father. The little one is in his cabin with his books and toys. He lifts his head from time to time, laughs with us then gets back into his activities. »
The family bubble is not the only one to sparkle. The couple shares sporting events with sick and former patients, but is also active in the fight against cancer. For example, they support the National Oncology Congress (Ifods), which is being held until June 14 in Paris. The scientific event doubles as an Olympic symbol: its president, Professor Jean-Philippe Spano, will carry the flame on July 14 and Camille Lacourt on the 19th.
For Alice, talking about her illness was initially a feat: “ I didn’t see myself as a standard bearer for such a cause. I was afraid of being stigmatized. Then I realized that I myself had worked towards negative stereotypes. I had been the girl in a bikini on the beach, obsessed with her image, looking for faults in others to convince herself to be the prettiest, the thinnest… I know from the inside the deceptive world of Misses and mannequins. When we wake up, we all look bad! I told myself that I had sucked. I had cancer, a difficult pregnancy during which I gained 30 kilos, and a second mastectomy as a preventative measure because I have a predisposition gene for breast cancer. Today, I find myself neither beautiful nor ugly but me. That’s not bad. »
Alice says her man’s love helped her
Camille Lacourt and Alice Detollenaere
© Virginie Clavieres
Author of “Healed by your love”, Alice confides that her man’s love helped her get through the illness, but also to free herself from the anxieties linked to her image. “And if I came to be an activist, it’s because he lent me his notoriety. Otherwise, people wouldn’t have heard much about me! » she laughs. The ex-model completed a “patient expert” diploma at the University of Patients, specializing in “self-image in a care pathway”. She is preparing a collection of sports bras and underwear useful for everyone, but particularly suitable for those who have gone through breast cancer. The name of his brand? “Promise.” “I want to say that there can be something beautiful afterwards. »
Among his struggles: “The importance of breast self-examination at all ages, a first line of defense! » During a raid, she found a young woman she met the previous year: “I didn’t recognize her because she had neither hair nor eyelashes. She told me that she had discovered cancer thanks to my advice. While she was undergoing chemo, she crossed the finish line: it was so beautiful! And I’ve seen this kind of scene so many times!”
Intimately convinced of the importance of sport to “rediscover a communion of mind and body”, Alice often participates in the Défi d’Elles and in Odyssea, sporting events of various levels, designed for people who are sick or in need. remission, can benefit from it. “It breaks down barriers,” she explains. The first time, I spoke with a participant and we understood that we had the same story. Ten minutes later, we were showing each other our breasts. Not the kind of thing you do when meeting friends! »
Camille was the first man to share the Défi d’Elles, a pair raid previously reserved for women. “Because I have a girl’s name,” he jokes. More seriously, he is proud to have opened the way: “It’s important to be united during the illness, but also afterwards! »
What is the Ifods congress?
In the office of Professor Jean-Philippe Spano (left), head of the medical oncology department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital (AP-HP), with Françoise Mornex, professor of oncology at Claude University -Bernard (Lyon), respectively president and vice-president of Ifods. May 28.
© Virginie Clavieres
An unmissable meeting place for oncology experts, this congress brings together every year the main players involved in the fight against cancer, in close collaboration with patient associations to take stock of the progress made and to be made.
Initiated by Professor Jean-Philippe Spano, head of the medical oncology department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital (AP-HP) and Françoise Mornex, professor of oncology at Claude Bernard University (Lyon), the Ifods (International and French oncology days) opened on Wednesday June 12 in Paris for three days. The result of an exclusive partnership with the American Society of Clinical Onclogy (ASCO) congress, the largest American congress in the field, aims in particular to share research projects for new treatments between French-speaking and American experts.
During the 39 scheduled sessions, patients, caregivers, but also cutting-edge companies, particularly bio-tech, also have a voice, to discuss with doctors and researchers the latest treatments, their financing, but also the good prevention practices.
