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BODY AT HEART

Giving voices
to Caroline

This year, for Pinktober, we have chosen to take a step back.
Not to speak, but to give others a voice. To create a space where stories and bodies can be liberated.

We met with four women affected by breast cancer.
Today, it is Caroline, aged 44, who has chosen to open up to Ysé, baring her heart and body.

What is your story with breast cancer?

When I fell ill and had to face a mastectomy, I needed to see photos and understand what my body would look like in the future in order to prepare myself psychologically. Unfortunately, I found very little information... Participating in this operation means showing what cannot be seen and talking about cancer so that it is no longer taboo!

My relationship with my body is more or less the same as my relationship with life. It is one of acceptance: acceptance of the 8 kg I gained as a result of the treatments, acceptance of my hair loss and my scars, both from the mastectomy and the implantable port.

Today, I feel proud of who I am, of having fought this battle, of having overcome the difficulty and intensity of the treatments, and of still being alive.

Nothing is the same anymore; everything has more flavour and everything is stronger.

I know that this ‘special adventure’ has made me stronger and allowed me to take a step back from many situations.

I am not considering reconstruction at the moment because it is a long and new journey, involving many operations, particularly to obtain a new body that is acceptable to others and to erase the traces of this disease. Today, I am not sure I want to erase them, and I am happy to find myself beautiful with them!

What advice has helped you and would you like to share with all women affected by cancer?

When you risk your life, you realise how precious it is, that your family and friends are essential, and that sometimes you have to put yourself first in order to be there for others later on.

Being surrounded by people was one of the keys to my recovery. In addition to my immediate circle, I also met the Jeune & Rose association, a collective of patients between the ages of 20 and 45 who have also been affected by breast cancer. Sharing a common story brings us closer together and allows us to understand each other very easily. To come full circle, so to speak, I have now chosen to get involved and become a volunteer for Jeune & Rose, thereby taking part in the fight against breast cancer myself.

Finally, I would advise all women to perform a monthly breast self-examination and to seek screening as soon as anything unusual appears, whether it be fatigue, pain, a change in our bodies, etc. Cancer in women under the age of 45 is still poorly detected. Cancer caught early is cancer that can normally be cured more easily and often avoids mastectomy. Long live life!

Do you have any artistic recommendations that deal with cancer that you particularly like?

My bedside book at the beginning of my cancer journey was Emilie Daudin's book, Dans mon sein (In My Breast). It helped me to visualise all the stages that lay ahead and made me feel reassured.

Alex Lutz's film Une nuit (One Night) was one of the first films I saw while I was ill. I found it wonderfully loving and delicate.

I also devoured the series ‘Dying for Sex’, which I found disturbingly realistic and incredibly well acted.

I haven't listened to many podcasts, as they're not my favourite medium, but the ‘Pipelettes’ podcasts, created by Jeune & Rose, are very relevant to what you go through when you have cancer at the age of 42.

Podcast "Pipelettes"