In Côte-d’Or, almost one in two women do not yet dare to be screened for breast cancer. The Carpe Diem 21 association supports people affected by the disease and wants to remove all obstacles.
We are on the eve of Pink October, a month to talk about the fight against breast cancer and remember the importance of screening!
A mammogram is offered to all women aged 50 to 74, every two years, a screening covered 100% by Health Insurance, but the figures show that less than one in two women will be screened. . However, the earlier the disease is detected, the better we can overcome it, this is the testimony of Geneviève Berger, secretary of the Carpe Diem 21 association.
France Blue Burgundy : You are 61 years old, you are a math teacher and you know this fight against illness well because you went through and overcame two cancers, notably breast cancer. Was it the screening that helped you get out of it quickly?
Genevieve Berger : Absolutely, my gynecologist was in favor of doing mammograms before the age of 50 and I believe it saved my life.
In terms of comfort, the devices have made progress, even if it remains an examination that is actually not very pleasant. It doesn’t last very long either. Concerning anxiety, it’s normal. You should know that in more than 95% of cases, no cancer is detected. So it’s quite a relief. You really have to see this. I see it a bit like when you do a technical inspection of your car. We’re going there to make sure there’s nothing serious. And if we find something, we act before it becomes deadly.
Here, in Côte-d’Or, 57% of women are screened. We are in the Top 3 nationally, which also means that one in two women do not dare to take the plunge?
-Yes, the brakes are a lot, a lot, a lot of anxiety. We don’t want to know, we postpone until tomorrow. The information is, I think, quite good, but it is a lot, a lot of anxiety.
Hence the importance of being accompanied?
-It’s very important. We are going through something that is still very strange since most illnesses get better and better as you undergo treatment. There, the exact opposite happens. You are doing very well, you have an examination, you are sick, you are given treatment and that’s when you start to feel less and less well. So, it’s very complicated for you to understand. It’s very complicated for those around you to understand.
-What support do you provide in your association? What is the well-being that you bring?
So we come within the framework of what we call supportive care. I don’t like this name very much, but anyway, it’s the name that is given, that is to say all the care that we can provide in addition to the treatments. It starts with adapted physical activity because it is very difficult for a person who is in treatment or who is coming out of treatment to resume physical activity. This is how the association began. Walking can be very, very simple things, like a tour of the Colombière park, stopping on the benches if necessary, and it extends to running since our running team has even already ran a half marathon.
-There is even boxing on Tuesday morning!
French boxing without combat to work the cardio, arms, legs, aquagym. We have two aquagym classes, we have three strength training classes, we have two dance classes, so quite a few things. In our group of 70 members, we have people who have completed their treatment several years ago. We have people who are in treatment, we have quite a few people who have just finished their treatment, who sometimes arrive at the end of a program called PEPS. This is what is offered to people who are recovering from the disease.
-You are followed mainly by women, are men more shy?
For us, this is a big question. It’s true that men are just as affected by cancer as women. If women are affected by breast cancer, men are affected by prostate cancer. Everyone is affected by colon cancer. But we have a majority of women. We will be present at several Pink October events, come see us!
