2023-10-08 09:00:13
Detected early, breast cancer – the most common malignant tumor in women – is cured in 9 out of 10 cases. Hence the importance of screening: mammograms in people at risk and women over 50, self-palpation…
Corinne, Annie and Ludwine had breast cancer. Today volunteers of the association Live like before, they provide support to women facing the same experience. They agreed to delve into their memories – still vivid – to talk about the difficult moment between the first examinations and the announcement of the diagnosis.
Read also: Seven habits that can help reduce breast cancer risk
Annie: “Time seems long, endless”
Annie first felt a small lump on one breast while soaping herself in the shower. “The size of a grain of rice or a small cherry pit. I was at risk because my mother had breast cancer. I knew it could happen to me…. Immediately, there was panic,” says this 68-year-old woman, now retired. At the time, she was 38 and worked as a human resources manager near Lille. She is married and has two children, aged 9 and 7. “There was a warning in my head: it’s happening! »
Immediately, she called her gynecologist’s office who made an appointment for the next day. “It’s taken urgently. No time to think about it. » Examination to follow: a mammogram. A « anomalies » is detected. Then it will be an ultrasound. Then a biopsy to take a sample. “Time seems long, endless, in maximum anxiety. We wait to have an appointment, then to have the results. Gradually, they are not good, the tension increases. »
We can’t tell anyone about it because nothing is certain. And we always keep in the back of our minds the idea that doctors are perhaps wrong…
— Annie
She also evokes the need to cope until the diagnosis is made. Her husband knows but not the others. Those who meet her every day. “We can’t tell anyone about it because nothing is certain. And we always keep in the back of our minds the idea that doctors are perhaps wrong… We keep silent and isolate ourselves, we protect ourselves. Especially at work. If we try to say something, we receive awkward words: “Don’t worry, it’s curable. » But, no, it’s not nothing. » » She adds : “It’s intense. We can no longer stand up but at the same time we must have a normal life. »
It was her gynecologist who finally told her the diagnosis and referred her to a surgeon, who operated on her. Annie couldn’t say the word cancer for a year. ” Not possible. Or even hear it. Doctors understand this. »
“I must have experienced these moments three times, because I had two recurrences,” she adds. The first, eight years later, detected during check-ups, mammograms and blood tests. “This follow-up protocol after a first cancer must be done well, advises Annie. It was the same radiologist as the first time. Benevolent, she was almost as devastated as me. It’s difficult for them to announce that. »
Faced with Annie’s tears when she gets dressed, the doctor advises her the name of a psychiatrist at the cancer center: “You need to get help, possibly with an anxiolytic,” she told him. The surgeon, in turn, has the right words. Annie and her family were going on vacation: ” What do I do ? » she asks him. ” You can leave. I take no risk for your health. “…
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