On April 18, 2023, Matthieu Lartot announced on his Instagram account his temporary withdrawal from France 2 due to the relapse of his knee cancer. “It’s a sarcoma, a rare and aggressive tumor that affects the soft tissues. It came back in the knee after long, long years”he detailed in The Parisianspecifying that it was the same illness which had forced him to stop his career as a Rugby player more than twenty years ago. To facilitate his recovery, the journalist had to have his right leg amputated in June 2023. A fight that he recounts in his book We do not amputate the heart, released last April. Guest on the show A Sunday in the countryside broadcast on France 2alongside Nicoletta and Alexandre Kominek this Sunday, October 20, Matthieu Lartot spoke about the support “exceptional” which he received from his wife Magalie. Despite his recurrence and his amputation, the sports journalist aimed to return to the air for the Rugby World Cup in France in September 2023, only two and a half months after the femoral amputation of his right leg.
To achieve his goal, each of his days was carefully planned for his rehabilitation. Even if the medical team was rather pessimistic upon his return, Matthieu Lartot didn’t give up. And for this, he was able to count on the support of a man, an amputee following a work accident, whom he met in the rehabilitation center. “I looked at him and I said to myself as soon as I can put on the prosthesis I’m getting into his wheel. I subject myself to the same physical efforts every day and he pulled me up”, he first explained. “Why this title, We don’t amputate the heart”Frédéric Lopez then asked him about his book. “Alone in life, generally speaking, we don’t do muchhe stressed. And cancer can take a leg or something else, as long as we don’t touch love, the hearts of others, because in this ordeal, I must pay tribute to my parents, to my wife who was exceptional , to my children, to the nursing staff.” “I owe so much to the people around mehe added. And thanks to them, I’m still standing and that’s why this title ‘We don’t amputate the heart’, as long as we have love around us we can do great things.”
Matthieu Lartot amputee, his wife Magalie pays tribute to him: “We were not surprised but…”
Matthieu Lartot amputee: these other people who played a decisive role in his journey
In an interview given to HuffPost last April, Matthieu Lartot revealed that his meeting with Patrick Knaff, when he arrived at France Télévisions, had been “decisive” in his fight against illness. “He was very important in my journey and decisive in what happened to me later“he assured. It must be said that the former sportsman, who died in 2006, had himself had a leg amputated following a moped accident at the age of 16. “A natural complicity” was thus created between the two men. When he had to make a decision about his amputation, he immediately thought of himself, “because he contributed to the fact that[‘il] accepted [son] sort”. “I had this chance thanks to him for having walked in my head”, he continued. Before adding: “Having an amputation was liberating. And I owe that in part to Patrick.” Matthieu Lartot was also able to receive support from Fabian Galthié, his sidekick on the air and in life. Last January, he explained to TV Magazine that he had come to see him during his chemotherapy and that he had been there every step of the way.
Photo credits: Screenshot France 2
