“Mélody, she was 25 years old, and At first it was a tiny ball like a marble. in his bosom”. When Lydie Larcher talks about her daughter’s illness, it is above all to prevent other women from dying like her from breast cancer. While prevention and awareness actions are increasing with Pink October, screening remains low among young women, and even among those aged 50-74yet affected by the Health Insurance campaign to carry out a mammogram every two years.
Mélody was, however, more aware than others: her mother herself had cancer and had her breast removed in 2003, from which she completely recovered thanks to early detection. “We went to see the gynecologist for Mélody, he said that we had to remove this lump in the breast, but we didn’t talk to her about cancer and she had other health problems, so she was less careful. For months she continued to work, says Lydie. At one point, it hurt so much, she consulted. The news came: the lump was the size of a tennis ball, the cancer has infiltrated other parts of his body, incurable.”
Raise awareness about early detection
On August 13, 2022, Mélody finally died. Her mother and big sister have since taken over the reins of the association she had created to help other patients, giving it her name. “The Pink Melody” has been developing since: “the better things go, the more people pay attention to that, says Lydie. Twenty years ago, when I had breast cancer, we talked about it less.”
A taboo which is gradually being lifted, in particular thanks to preventive actions. She trained involunteer ambassador for screening breast, uterine and colorectal cancer, to continue to raise awareness among everyone, as men may also be affected by the disease. This weekend, she will take advantage of the Pink October activities in Valence-en-Poitou to learn self-palpation to passers-by, “thanks to a mannequin on which there are all the signs that can be found on the chest in the event of breast cancer”she specifies.
The issue for her also involves youth awareness : “I have classes from Montmorillon or Poitiers who ask to come and talk to them about the association, it’s great because they are the ones who should be affected first, says Lydie Larcher. Unfortunately, many young people stop along the way, like my daughter. We must stop hiding our faces: as soon as you have something, you have to go to the doctor. It’s better to have an MRI for nothing than to die with your life ahead of you.”
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