After intensive radiotherapy in Limoges, chemotherapy and hormonal treatment between the Limoges hospital and her home in Thenay, Valérie Minier’s long fight against her breast cancer now brings her to La Roche-Posay and Cape Jobs.
Our three-part series
Rehabilitation through adapted sport and a new treatment
“At the end of my radiotherapy, in March, I was entitled to a ten-week cycle of adapted sport at the Follow-up Care and Rehabilitation Center (CSSR) in Châteauroux, with two sessions per week. On the program: cardiorespiratory and muscle rehabilitation… A good way to relearn how to “use your body” without hurting yourself… and to make friends! This is also the time when my hair started to grow back, slowly, and in all directions.
Then, at the beginning of April, my radiotherapist prescribed hormone therapy to block my estrogen production. Since it was my hormones that were feeding the invasive cancer cells, they were cut off in some way. This precipitated my menopause which was no longer very far away anyway… But the hardest part was the extreme pain caused by this new treatment: the joints were no longer lubricated as they should be, I had sore everywhere… The radiotherapist told me that I had to last three months and as things were better at the end of this period, we kept the molecule. So I will now have to take this pill for life, every day.
And then, at the beginning of July, my oncologist, seeing that I was in shock, offered me “adjuvant treatment” to maximize my chances. This time it involves targeted chemotherapy, with two tablets to be taken every day, at set times, for two years. I chose 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., times when I am available to pick them up. Despite unpleasant side effects, I deal with it. »
A cure at La Roche-Posay
“As I began this new phase of my treatment, my attending physician prescribed a three-week post-cancer treatment at La Roche-Posay in October. This was covered by Social Security, with around a hundred euros remaining to be paid, paid by my mutual insurance company. I went there from Monday to Saturday. But since it was an hour and a half drive away, in order not to have to make the trip every day, I had to find accommodation locally. The A sa vie association, which offers financial aid of up to €250 to help post-cancer spa guests find accommodation, helped me.
On site, I chose to have my treatments in the morning: massages, baths, sprays… And in the afternoon, I attended conferences on a whole bunch of themes: nutrition, breast reconstruction, fatigue, intimate life, actions to prevent after-effects…”
A new life begins
“I am now waiting for a meeting with Cap Emploi to prepare for my return to work. I would like to find a job that not only makes me happy, but fulfills me. I want to feel useful and pass on my experience. This is why I am thinking about doing training in “ patient partner expert ”, a status which legitimizes the fact that we become a partner of hospital services, and for which we are paid. Money is the crux of the matter, I wouldn’t like to be a volunteer.
I believe in the power of words.
Valérie Minier in treatment for breast cancer
I also dream of leading information groups, particularly on intimacy and sexuality, which are subjects that are rarely discussed during illness. Since treatments have a big impact on libido, you also have to rediscover your body and its sensations. I believe in the power of words for this: you have to dare to say, dare to speak.
I am therefore also thinking of trying a University Diploma (DU) in sexual health counselor, or training as a sex therapist. »
Valérie Minier’s journey with cancer
> 11 mars 2023. Date of her mammogram.
> 13 mars 2023. Biopsy at the Follow-up Care and Rehabilitation Center (CSSR) in Châteauroux.
> Avril 2023. MRI and PET scan to confirm the diagnosis and look for possible metastases.
> May 30, 2023. Tumerectomy in Limoges.
> End of June 2023. Wound check appointment and chemotherapy announcement.
> July 24, 2023. Placement of the “port à cath” (Pac), implantable chamber.
> August 1, 2023. Start of his first chemotherapy.
> August 15, 2023. Shaving his hair.
> December 28, 2023. End of his first chemotherapy.
> From mid-January to mid-March 2024. Radiotherapy (33 sessions in Limoges, one per day, Monday to Friday.)
> Second half of March. “Nothing left, loneliness. »
> 1er avril 2024. Placed on hormonal therapy, one tablet to be taken every day.
> July 15, 2024. Start of targeted chemotherapy, with two tablets per day to be taken at set times, for two years, and remote monitoring by the Limoges oral therapy service and regular appointments with the oncologist.
> From October 14 to November 2, 2024. Three-week treatment, Monday to Saturday, in La Roche-Posay.
