2023-10-08 16:32:39
80% of breast cancers are diagnosed following the age of 50. However, Séverine was only 29 years old when she discovered she had it. A shock for the young woman, with significant consequences on her daily life and her health.
It’s when showering that Séverine detects for the first time “the problem“: a sort of “small lump” with irregular contours, neither very large nor very painful, but new and unknown in her right breast. It is 2018, and this in-store sales consultant has just celebrated her 29th birthday.
Too young to have breast cancer, she believes. “At that moment, in my imagination, it was an illness that happened to women aged 50 or 60. 40 years for the less fortunate. Not when you’re not even 30 yet.“
However, the weeks pass and the doubt grows. The “lump” in his chest too. Initially discreet and difficult to spot, the mass now seems firmer and clearly distinct from her breast tissue. At the same time, Séverine notices the appearance of lymph nodes in her armpit.
Pressed by her loved ones, the young woman finally decided to consult her midwife, two months following her first discovery. The latter confirms that she feels the presence of a mass, and gives him a prescription for an ultrasound. She also reassures her, explaining that these “balls” can have various causes, and that cancer is one of the least common, especially in a woman under 50.
The appointment for the exam is given a month and a half later. Here once more, a mass is observed, and Séverine is prescribed a biopsy, which this time takes place in the same week. Now very worried, she has to wait four more long weeks before getting the result: she is indeed suffering from breast cancer.
“My daily life revolved around my treatment, I might no longer work, and all my family, all my loved ones only talked to me regarding that.”
“When I learned regarding it, I was a little torn. On the one hand, I was completely blown away, and on the other, it’s as if I already knew it before anyone told me.“What follows for the young woman is a ballet of medical appointments, including blood tests, scans, examinations with an oncologist, and finally surgery and prescription of oral chemotherapy.
“I was so busy that I didn’t even really have time to think regarding how I was feeling, she remembers. And at the same time I might only think regarding that, since my daily life revolved around my treatment, I might no longer work, and all my family, all my loved ones only talked to me regarding that.“
Reminder and self-examination. Credit: Thinkpink, national campaign to fight breast cancer. • © Thinkpink
The treatment is not without following-effects for Séverine: she loses a large part of her hair, “I shaved off the rest when the majority started to fall off“, has difficulty eating due to nausea, and has to lie down for long hours during the day, constantly exhausted.
Thinned, “I lost 15 kilos in the first few months“, she becomes more sensitive to light and noise, and is no longer able to do her own shopping, cleaning or meals. Self-proclaimed “free and autonomous”, the young woman becomes dependent on her family and her friends. friends for all the little everyday tasks. “It was quite complicated to take on.“
And then finally, following long months of combat, Séverine reaches the end of her treatment. Not the end of surveillance nonetheless,”the risk of recurrence is quite high“, she is told, but from several meetings per week, the young woman moves to one meeting every two weeks, then every month, then once a quarter.
“Getting sick like that is never fair, so it’s good to have people who understand what’s happening to you, and who you can really talk regarding it with.”
Now aged 35, Séverine continues to be monitored, but has been able to regain her job, her social life, and a daily life.almost like before“. “I’m always a little more tired than I was before the illness. But maybe it’s because I’m getting older, too“, she jokes.
Above all, the thirty-year-old joined, via Facebook, support groups for women who also suffer or have suffered from breast cancer. “We share our stories, we listen to each other, and we encourage each other, she smiled. Getting sick like that is never fair, so it’s good to have people who understand what’s happening to you, and with whom you can really talk regarding it..”
In France, more than 50,000 new cases of breast cancer are recorded each year. It is the most common cancer among women. If its average age of diagnosis is estimated at 63 years, 5% of patients who suffer from it are under 40 years old.
Prevention is necessary at any age, by self-examining your chest, ideally once a month, on the same day, a few days following your period. It is strongly recommended to consult your doctor if you notice a lump, pain, redness and/or abnormal discharge from the breasts.
Generally speaking, it is advisable to have your chest examined once a year, regardless of your age, by your doctor or gynecologist. Finally, between ages 50 and 74, free appointments for a screening mammogram are indicated every two years. Namely, breast cancer treated early is cured in 90% of cases.
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