“My heart inside / Bared from its breast / For now / It is not cold / Healed in time / It’s up to you to know / Recognize / The beginning moments / From this illness / I am a man / Saved by this simple message / Given by a friend […]» Since the beginning of his journey towards remission, Laurent Saltini has used his pen to ink thoughts and emotions. One day in May 2020, this now 65-year-old retiree noticed a lump under his left nipple. The color and texture of her skin catches his eye.
“I knew that breast cancer could also be male, even if it is a rarer disease in men (50 new cases per year in Switzerland, editor’s note), thanks to the experience of a colleague who passed that way,” says Laurent.
An engineer by training, someone who worked as a video technician then director for the RTS television news has the reflex to consult his doctor. After the exams, the ax falls: Laurent has hormonal breast cancer, the cause of which is high estrogen levels. Even if detected early, the disease has already metastasized. “My medical treatment went very quickly. In June, I underwent a mastectomy, then I began chemotherapy treatment for six months, and radiotherapy for a month, he confides. The side effects, such as extreme fatigue, were sometimes heavy to bear. Today, I am in remission.”
Despite the challenges, Laurent does not suffer from his illness, on the contrary, an incredible positive energy drives him forward. “I wasn’t afraid. Cancer freed me from the small problems that could then mark my daily life, it absorbed bad energies. I was lucky to be surrounded by people who were going through the same thing as me: my cousin, Isabelle, and my friend Patricia, whom I met during my mastectomy appointment and with whom I created in 2023 the podcast Ensembleon our journey with breast cancer.”
A rebirth through writing
Directed to the OTIUM Center in Geneva by the medical profession, Laurent discovered the writing workshop.
“I found a new family there, a calming place where we are surrounded by people – especially women, with whom I have always felt comfortable – who understand us and with whom we can be ourselves. »
Laurent has always loved words. Since childhood, he has listened to Brassens, Brel, Ferré or Cabrel, music inspires him but he cannot put his thoughts down on paper. The workshop opened the way for him. “Writing completely changed me, I experienced it as a rebirth, a psychological calming through the expression of my emotions. I post my poems on a blog and I hope, one day, that my work will be published.
Retired for a year, Laurent left Geneva for Valais, where he lives with his wife. Active in volunteer work (“Couch days, very little for me!”), he wants to inaugurate a writing workshop near his home, in Ardon, at the ASOA center: “It’s free and it makes good.” His conclusion? “I testify to raise awareness of the fact that male breast cancer exists. And that illness, even with its challenges, can bring positive things.”
If you suspect breast cancer, do not hesitate to consult your doctor. The CHUV as well as the HUG have a Breast Center, from which it is possible to find information. In addition, the French-speaking cantons invite women aged 50 and over to have a screening mammogram every two years, an examination covered by health insurance.
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