Camille, Aurélie, and Cécile: aged 30 to 52, they share a "higher risk" of developing breast cancer during their lifetime. But they are determined to face it head-on, thanks to personalized follow-up.
These three women braved the brisk air of a March morning to arrive at 8:30 a.m. at the Gustave-Roussy Institute in Villejuif, near Paris, where they will spend the day.
On the agenda: workshops on cancer and nutrition, consultations with an oncologist, a gynecologist, physical activity with a sports coach... to be better informed about their risk and to leave home with "an action plan for the years to come" and personalized monitoring, via a dedicated application.
There were five of them that day, united by a family history of breast cancer that puts them at an "increased risk" of developing it in their lives, and the desire to take charge of their health thanks to "Interception." This personalized cancer prevention program, which oncologist Suzette Delaloge has been leading since 2021, also exists in Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rennes, Avignon, and soon in Réunion, Suresnes, and Valenciennes.
"Obviously, I tell myself that I'm reaching an age where you start to get into mischief..." laughs Aurélie, 49, a dog handler with customs. She learned from her twin sister's cancer specialist that she was eligible for the program.
Although her sister's gynecologist "had indeed detected a lump in her breast, he had played it down for months before saying: 'Okay, maybe we'll do a test.'" Mastectomy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, early menopause due to the treatment, breast reconstruction... Aurélie saw her sister living with "pain for ten years, and even now."
Some information reassured her: a stressful event like bereavement doesn't cause cancer—a tumor takes years to develop—and X-ray radiation isn't problematic. She noted that drinking alcohol is harmful to women "from the first glass," but, being a "greedy person," she "finds it hard to go without a nice glass of wine."
– “Very encouraging” –
The goal of the program – a total of 2,100 people were being followed by the end of 2024 in nine pathways, dedicated to lung and pancreatic cancers, etc. – is to "reduce the occurrence of serious cancers," explains Dr. Olivier Caron, head of the genetics consultation. "We say that perhaps 30%, 40% of cancers occur in people known to be at risk."
"So we're trying to limit exposure factors like tobacco, alcohol, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle, and we're implementing appropriate screening to diagnose cancer as early as possible, in order to have the shortest possible treatment and a cure with minimal after-effects," he summarizes. "Hence the concept of interception: catching the tumor as soon as it's born."
Last year, Camille lost her mother, who was being treated at Gustave-Roussy. At 30, she can join the program, unlike her younger sister. She will now undergo annual checkups: mammograms, ultrasounds, and, if necessary, biopsies or MRIs.
"It was a little anxiety-inducing for me to come here, because we've been through a lot with my mother. But it's really encouraging to know that we'll have personalized follow-up," she says, aware that she has to "quit smoking quickly" to reduce her risk.
Cécile, a 52-year-old CSR project manager whose mother, aunt, and cousin have been ill, is gathering information to share with her sister and three daughters, aged 16 to 22. "I think that if I get cancer, it will be cured, which wasn't the case 30 years ago," she says.
With 105.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in mainland France, France has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. When detected early, breast cancer is curable in nine out of ten cases.
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