On Monday September 30, the Ruban Rose association presented its new awareness campaign during a major show which took place in an emblematic place in Paris, Place Vendôme. To promote breast cancer screening, the association’s three godmothers (Alice Detollenaere, Evelyne Dhéliat and Claudia Tagbo), the singer Amir and nearly 170 women paraded through a pink-tinted Place Vendôme.
We remind you that breast cancer is the most common female cancer: it represents 1 in 8 women… It remains the leading cause of cancer death in women (12,000 deaths per year). Like every year, October 1 marks the start of the awareness month, Pink October, initiated by the Ruban Rose association. During this period, the association encourages women of all ages to be examined.
On this occasion, Top Santé spoke with the former model, Alice Detollenaere who is also the partner of swimmer Camille Lacourt. The young woman, now cured, fought breast cancer in 2020.
“I was lucky to be diagnosed early, which allowed me to give birth to my child”
Top Santé: Why is it important to take on the role of godmother for Ruban Rose?
Alice Detollenaere: “First of all because Ruban Rose is the association that created the Pink October movement. It is also the largest association in France which has two axes: supporting research – and this is important to me because I have benefited from it at all stages of my career – but also promoting prevention. The great thing is that there are lots of ways to do it. With this parade, the association wanted to show women as they really are. This is what we need and I am proud to stand with them. However, if we manage to do extraordinary things, women will be screened less and less.”
TS: Why do you think women are screened less?
AD: “I think we reassured them too much. Today, we repeat that 9 times out of 10 we are cured of breast cancer. However, it is essential to be screened as early as possible because early diagnosis is decisive for life. Just because you recover doesn’t mean you won’t suffer any after-effects. I was lucky to be diagnosed early, which allowed me to give birth to my child. This would not have been possible if my illness had been detected later”.
“I felt a lump in my chest at 32”
TS: What were the warning signs leading to your diagnosis?
AD: “I felt a lump in my chest when I was 32. I was not alarmed, but I consulted. I went for a mammogram and my case required a biopsy [un prélèvement, ndlr]. The doctor reassured me by telling me that I had a 99.9% chance that it was nothing. ‘You don’t have to worry,’ he told me. After the diagnosis, he apologized. He simply wanted to be reassuring and empathetic.”
TS: Once in remission, what signs should a woman watch out for?
AD: “There are very frequent checks. But what is important is to listen very closely to your body. Without being too much so. Otherwise we will interpret everything any way we want. Over time, we also manage to calm down. To avoid recurrence, I decided to have a preventive mastectomy on the second breast. So today, my risk is lower than any other woman”.
TS: What made you decide to proceed with the preventive removal of the second breast?
AD: “Having this second breast removed was not difficult, I was happy to go. I encourage women to take the genetic test which allows you to know if you are at risk. If you carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, this means that you have an 85% increased risk of breast cancer. This is not bad news, since we can take action behind it. The difference between my two mastectomies is that the first one was not a choice. The second was my prevention decision.”
“You will discover a part of your unsuspected femininity”
TS: What kept you going during your fight?
AD: “I don’t know what it would have been like without him, but it’s Camille. He was the most beautiful thing I had at that point in my life. I was afraid he would leave me, we had only been together for a year. Not only did he stay, but he was the one who rebuilt me.”
TS: What would you want to say to a woman diagnosed today?
AD: “She’s not going to know the protocol right away. At first, when you arrive in the doctor’s office, you think that he will give you the whole process. In fact, you have to wait weeks and that’s the hardest part. We then imagine the worst scenarios. But once the protocol is in place, all we have to do is roll up our sleeves and go for it. We then set ourselves goals that we thought were unattainable. But you will find that they are. You will discover a part of your unsuspected femininity”.
Early treatment of small breast cancer provides a 99% chance of cure, 5 years after diagnosis.
To read to go further: Healed by your love, September 2021 (ed. Leduc.s)
