Last November 25 in Paris, Europa Donna France brought together major players in research, support and care in the field of breast cancer, but also patients, who came to share their journeys.
Intense and rich moments which allowed around 4 round tables to discuss questions of screeningof diagnosis, the treatments (and the prospects for new treatments), management but also the daily life of cancer and post-cancer. We were there. Here’s what you need to remember.
Screening and diagnosis: avenues for improvement
Philippe Bergerot, president of the league against cancer since June of this year, notes that the average times for an examination or a consultation increase despite efforts: “There are more and more sick people and the increase in the number of caregivers and infrastructure is not enough.”
Another sticking point: the waiting time before obtaining exam results. Even if some centers offer welcome initiatives (Gustave Roussy in Villejuif – 94 – has thus set up the “diagnosis in one day”), for many we have to wait for results. days or weeks sometimes before diagnosis.
The announcement of diagnostic also is for many patients considered too brutal. The experts present at the conference recommend better training, radiologists in particular, so that diagnostic announcements are better supervised and better experienced.
Finally, Europa Donna France is campaigning for more personalized screening, based on genetic profile (the BRCA gene is not the only one involved) but also on family history: if several cases of cancer exist in the family, even without genetic alteration, closer monitoring should be the rule. Furthermore, in certain cases, mammography alone is not enough; it must be combined with an MRI so that the diagnosis can be made early.
Surgery: fear of the scar
“Breast cancer surgery, whether the oncological procedure or the reconstruction, has undergone an impressive evolution over time, leading to the almost tailor-made surgery offered to patients today.”, explains the press release published following the conference. Many techniques are now accessible.
The Dr. Benjamin Sarfaticosmetic and plastic surgeon in Paris details you in the video that follows the benefits of new techniques that allow scar-free reconstruction.
