La Croix L’Hebdo : How are you ?
Fabienne Lemaitre: I’m doing well. Better than when I found out I had breast cancer in June 2023, that’s for sure. The announcement comes as a shock. Why me? How will it happen? We are not equal in the face of illness. We don’t know why she’s falling on us. At first, I was depressed. Now I live with it. Most of the time I don’t think about it or at least I try to. Either way, you have to live. And there are so many more serious cases!
Before I knew I was sick, I felt tired. Initially, I put it down to a marathon I ran six months earlier. But something was wrong. A control mammogram revealed an abnormality. The oncologist told me I had stage three breast cancer. Which means that, detected relatively early, the tumor was not yet very large. Radiotherapy was enough to remove it. I have been in remission for a year.
Do we talk enough about breast cancer, in your opinion?
FL : We talk about it more. Including on a professional network like LinkedIn, where it is no longer taboo. Many associations also support women affected by the disease. Twenty or thirty years ago, there was very little support outside the hospital. Cancer was even more scary than today… Now many people are struggling, as shown by the events organized on the occasion of “Pink October” (1).
I have been involved since I joined the Casiopeea association in November 2023, which does in-depth work around sport. This year, we organized the “Pink marathon” on the night of October 5 to 6 in Paris. It was a walking race, with no performance objective. The goal was to have a friendly time, everyone at their own pace. I found out about the association through an adapted sports program and I found it great! Between women who have experienced breast cancer, we understand each other. We discuss the illness without embarrassment. Today, I am involved as a volunteer at Casiopeea. The association has given me a lot and I am happy to return the favor.
So sport is a remedy?
FL : Without being an athlete, I have always played a lot of sport. It helps me overcome challenges and feel good. I stopped smoking thanks to running. Having been a smoker for a long time, one day I said to myself: “I have to stop, it’s a real bitch. » I took sneakers and that’s how I started running. In 2015, I burned out. The race was a big help, again. Every morning I went to run ten kilometers. The pleasure doesn’t come straight away. There is a thankless moment to get past. But when you’re tired, when you have problems, going for a run, even for five minutes, allows you to see things differently.
At work, how is it going?
FL : When my cancer was discovered, I had just finished a fixed-term contract and was unemployed. I had found a job but, with radiotherapy which involved regular absences, I had to notify my future employer. He didn’t hire me. At that time, mentally, it was complicated. Once the radiotherapy was finished, an association specializing in returning to work helped me.
I applied for a temporary assignment at Suez, I told them about my cancer. They offered me part-time work over three days, which comforted me. I was able to gradually return to work and regain enough confidence to talk about my illness professionally. Now I am transparent; when people ask me why I have a gap in my CV.
Exactly, who do you trust?
FL : Confidence comes and goes… Faced with cancer, some loved ones did not support me as I would have liked. They got scared. Conversely, I received unexpected support. The first thing, I think, is to have confidence in yourself. Even if I have to live with the fear of recurrence, of the cancer winning… I try to cope day by day. And my children boost me! I think of them, of their lives. They help me surpass myself. I want to give them the image of a fighting mother.
(1) An annual campaign organized by the Ruban rose association, which aims to inform, develop the early diagnosis of breast cancer and raise funds. To find out more: cancerdusein.org
