a patient association mobilizes for Movember

Do you know Movember? While Pink October focuses on breast cancer screening in women, operation Movember, originating in Australia, is intended to raise public awareness of the most common cancers in men, particularly those prostate and testicles, and male mental health, which is still taboo. To participate in the movement, men are encouraged to grow a mustache throughout the month of November.

Screening recommended from age 45

In this context, the Association of Patients with Localized Prostate Cancer (APCLP) is carrying out several awareness-raising actions throughout the month of November throughout Deux-Sèvres. The goal: to raise awareness of the association, and above all, to emphasize prostate cancer screening. “It’s good to get tested from the age of 50, and even from the age of 45 for those who have a family history”points out Claude Redien, vice-president of the association. The importance of screening is also emphasized because cancer can easily go unnoticed. “I had no symptoms when the diagnosis came”indicates Jean Perochon, a former patient with prostate cancer, now the association’s correspondent for the Charente-Maritime department. It is important to encourage men to get diagnosed, since some may be reluctant to do so. “Some are afraid to know and don’t do it,” explain the members of the association.

Offices to provide support

The APCLP was created in 2003 by patients formerly affected by prostate cancer. It has 230 members, including around fifty in Deux-Sèvres. Recognized by the Regional Health Agency, the association maintains offices in the hospital centers of the departments where it is established.

In Deux-Sèvres, the association is present in Faye-l’Abbesse on 2^e Monday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and at the Niort hospital center on the 4th^e Monday of the month from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Members of the association offer patients affected by prostate cancer moral support before, during and after treatment. They can also answer questions from men who would like to be tested. To get the best possible support, patients can be connected with members who have been treated with the same treatment as them. “It’s important to have testimonies from people who have experienced the same thing as us, receiving this diagnosis is always a blow to the head”supports Jean Perochon.

As a reminder, nearly 60,000 new cases of prostate cancer are detected in France each year and it is responsible for 8,000 deaths.