Anne was raising her two daughters aged seven and ten, alone, when she learned that she had rectal cancer in 2016. And it wasn’t easy to tell them about the disease. Testimony
The first announcement of her illness was already very difficult for this woman who is 45 years old today. It was her general practitioner who called her one evening in the spring of 2016, after her consultations, to tell her that she had “a little cancer”.
An ad with puppets for his daughters
When her GP told her she had cancer, Anne didn’t tell her daughters right away. She first warned her parents and her children’s godmothers. For these girls, she called on an association. “It’s true that it was complicated to tell them because I didn’t know how to do it or what words to use”. Anne knew the president of an association which supports families following illness and disability, and this lady came to her home to take care of telling her children about the illness and then what was going to happen. “What I remember is that there were puppets and emotions that were written so that my daughters could indicate how they felt about what was being explained to them. I didn’t know if I should tell them that I was potentially going to die or not, because we were necessarily going to broach this subject with cancer to children, we can’t lie. So we had to tell them that potentially, yes, it could happen. So, I told them, and it was a moment of intense emotion between all three of us, but necessary.”
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A host family during his hospitalization
Anne underwent several biopsies before having a precise diagnosis. She has been in remission since 2020, but in the meantime she had to undergo hospitalization. Her close relatives being far from home, she was forced to find a host family. She was able to find a family not far from her home in Sarthe. Her two daughters have not missed a single day of school. A satisfaction for this mother who declares that: “I couldn’t get better and start hospitalization if my daughters couldn’t be looked after.” Anne has been in remission since 2020, but there are still many traces of her illness for her daily life. She has a digestive treatment every evening which lasts at least 90 minutes. She has a strict diet: no fiber, no eggs, no milk. She mainly eats potatoes. Despite all these constraints, she remains positive. “I can do anything, but I have constraints.”
“GO GET SCREENED”
And in this period of pink October, Anne insists on the importance of screening for different cancers. This is very important. She reminds us that we no longer do screenings earlier, the greater the chances of recovery.
