2023-10-21 19:02:41
This Saturday, October 21, mobilization around breast and testicular cancer in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The And Life Continues association organized prevention workshops to gently discuss these major health topics and anticipate screenings.
Bérénice Del Tatto • Published on October 21, 2023 at 5:02 p.m., updated on October 21, 2023 at 7:36 p.m.
“It is an important step to take charge of your health, each person should be an actor of their health and leave nothing to chance” confides a Saint-Pierraise who came to attend the cancer prevention workshops which took place this Saturday at the ferry terminal.
Becoming an actor and actress in your health, this is the objective conveyed by the association Et la vie continues, organizer of the Pink October events in the archipelago.
This Saturday, many women from the association and doctors were present to answer questions from those who came. Questions that have been asked more easily in recent years.
It’s still early days, but people are starting to talk regarding cancer more and more. Over the past three years, the tumors detected here have been smaller than before, at stage 1. This is encouraging.
Dominica Detcheverry, President And life goes on
Confiding in the doctor, entering the intimate sphere, can remain complicated for some patients. In order to gently break down barriers, the association set up a self-examination demonstration stand with a doctor. A 43-year-old from Saint-Pierraise took the plunge and came to the workshops: “It’s a very personal approach. Even if we feel on an artificial bust, I would have preferred that the stand was closed. It remains intimate.“
Nearly 60,000 new cases of breast cancer are detected each year in France according to Public Health France. So to identify them as quickly as possible, the doctor present at the workshops this Saturday explains to us how to proceed.
First step in front of the mirror: the first signs of cancer are visual. Women must be careful to identify “a lack of symmetry, possible redness, an orange peel effect or even retraction of the nipple.” After the visual examination, the tactile examination takes place. The doctor explains: “Simply raise your arm in the air on the side of the breast being felt, make spirals with three fingers inwards, then outwards and end up pinching the nipple..” A rapid manipulation which allows the identification of possible cancer-causing lumps.
A self-examination workshop on an artificial bust organized to prevent breast cancer in Saint-Pierre. • ©SPM the 1st
Starting self-examination is recommended from the age of thirty. But this type of examination is recommended throughout life according to the doctor present on site: “It should be a habit so that there is no taboo on bodies. The habit of feeling oneself certainly allows us to talk regarding cancer but also to discuss knowledge of our body.”
On this subject, speech is also freed and the recommendations of the association Et la vie continue seem to resonate with the Saint-Pierraises.
I have already had check-ups and I do self-examination but without really knowing the techniques. I learned regarding it via the association’s flyers, but talking to the doctor makes it much more concrete.
Resident of Saint-Pierre, 43 years old
Although breast cancer mainly affects women, 1% of men are also affected. Other types of cancer are predominantly male: that of the testicles and the prostate. To identify them, a prevention stand was also organized this Saturday at the ferry terminal.
With age, questions begin to arise. I’m here to learn how to spot the symptoms. If we have a small lump, we don’t really know what it is…That worries me in terms of potentially detecting it earlier.
Resident of Saint-Pierre, 51 years old
Prevention for male cancers will begin from November in the archipelago as part of “Movember“, month dedicated to men’s health following Pink October.
The report by Martine Briand and Solène Anson:
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