In 1964, Marseille entrepreneur Edmond Oliva, devastated by the loss of his brother to cancer, launched the idea of ”Franc de l’Espoir” with his employees. With each contribution, he adds the equivalent of his pocket and the solidarity movement is quickly emulated.
In June of the same year, the Group of French Companies in the fight once morest Cancer (GEFLUC) emerges and, very quickly, regional branches as far as Monaco, in 1973. An International Federation (FIELUC) even sees the light of day before go to sleep.
Like all of us, the president of GEMLUC, François-Jean Brych, saw the crab slyly knocking on his family’s door. Several times. Since 1978, his commitment has had the value of priesthood and, today, the president announces new ambitions following the association was brought to light during the last Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
Princess Caroline and Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy involved
GEMLUC, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, has notably, under the impetus of its young guard embodied by Dr. Benoît Paulmier, decided to go digital. “We were a bit in the shadows, a team of old people who weren’t very communicativebluntly admits François-Jean Brych. But we have signed a contract with a person who is developing our social networks.”
A renewed visibility essential to stand out in the associative environment, especially as GEMLUC hopes to cross the Atlantic and relaunch FIELUC. “We have to get it back on track and we are going to do it to integrate France, Italy, and then it will be a good springboard for America!”launches determined François-Jean Brych.
President of the Monte-Carlo Country Club and eager to invest herself ever more in the fight once morest cancer following the death of her mother, Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy, Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy, has already tested the waters across the Atlantic. “I have talked a lot regarding GEMLUC in recent weeks with friends in the United States, to see how we might make it known and energize the website and social networks. It seems normal to me to work once morest cancer, which affects everyone, at all ages and in all social categories.
A support from the princely family that goes back to Princess Grace recalls the president of GEMLUC, and continues. “Princess Caroline has always supported us in an extraordinary way. In associations there are ups and downs, and when there were downs, she was always there!
“100% of donations go to research and medical progress”
Honest and sincere, like the cardinal values of the association, François-Jean Brych confides that GEMLUC is doing well. After a bequest of 4.5 million euros from a British resident of Monaco a few years ago, GEMLUC records in 2023 “the best first semester in its history, apart from the bequest, in terms of collecting donations”.
“Following the Evening of Hope, a person made a donation of 10,000 euros, which led to another of 100,000 euros from a gentleman who lost his wife. Thanks to another association which fights once morest female cancer , we should have regarding 200,000 euros, to which are added the 37,204 euros from the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
Funds that the president, who is also a chartered accountant, traces to pennies, to ensure that they respect the wishes of testators and donors during their lifetime. “We make prudent investments and we are at the service of donors. We have no overhead, so 100% of donations go to research and medical advancement. I already know that in twenty years GEMLUC will still exist”assures Mr. Brych, who specifies the destination of the funds.
In addition to its board of directors made up of doctors, lawyers, business leaders, etc., GEMLUC acts on its choices following the green light from its scientific committee on which “the holy doctor” Georges Garnier or the vice-president, Dr. Benoît Paulmier: “We have partnerships with the CHPG for the donation of equipment and, this is new, funding assistance for genetic tests which are fundamental to establishing the cancer treatment strategy.” (read below)
“Our support for research is also long-term. When we start a study, we generally commit to two or three years”specifies Dr. Paulmier, referring in particular to the support for researchers from their thesis, and the partnership with the CSM dear to the former director of the CHPG, Maurice Gaziello, who died in 2020.
Large donations to the CHPG to finance individualized treatments
Since last year, GEMLUC has partially financed tests prescribed to CHPG patients by their oncologists, and validated by the multidisciplinary arbitration commission, to optimize their cancer treatment.
Genetic sequencing of the tumor DNA which allows individualized treatment once the diagnosis has been made and the tumor(s) located. The result is chemotherapy or immunotherapy that is more effective, more targeted, but which comes at a cost.
“The CHPG is obliged to ”select” patients because the sequencing costs 1,500 euros not reimbursed, says François-Jean Brych. We, GEMLUC, are giving 100,000 euros to allow people to have access to it. We lower the cost price from 1,500 to around 1,000 euros and we expand the population that can benefit from it.
Human dimension
Practiced for a few years at the CHPG, this type of sequencing is more common in the United States “but at exorbitant prices”, underlines Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy, who pushed all possible doors to “save“his mother, Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy, swept away by an extremely rare form of cancer in 2020.
“It was a particular sequencing and it was only in the United States that we practiced it at that time, so we sent a biopsy with the agreement of the doctors of the CHPG”, confides Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy, who then acquired a certain medical knowledge.
“This allows to know the percentage of probability that the tumor responds to chemotherapy or immunotherapy”, sums up the one who, like Dr Benoît Paulmier, recalls the importance of “human dimension” in the care. And since everyone reacts differently to the disease, the importance of the entourage and dialogue with the medical team.
“I needed to join GEMLUC because there is professional investment, but I also had this need to go to the other side, take a step back and contribute modestly to moving the lines”, says Dr. Paulmier.
“We mightn’t save my mother but if we can do our part to try to save other people, I think that’s the least we can do, if only in her memory. “, concludes Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy.
To contact and/or help GEMLUC, send an email to [email protected] or +377.93.30.15.15.
