''Even if the word cancer had not been mentioned, I quickly understood'', struck by the disease these Nîmes women testify

Isabelle is still fighting cancer. And integrated an American research protocol. Marie-Joëlle overcame melanoma diagnosed late, thanks to surgery. Heartbreakingly, the two Nîmes women, full of energy, testify about their journey in the face of illness.

She had no particular predisposition to cancer. But was officially affected by the disease in 2022. " It was Christmas time. A suspicious lymph node in my groin then led me to consult, until the diagnosis was confirmed by a biopsy: I had cancer of the anal canal. ;quot;, says Isabelle Poussier, 64, today. 

Originally from the Paris region, arriving in Nîmes in 2014, the teacher-researcher was then pushed by her gastroenterologist to integrate, in Montpellier, an exceptional research protocol &amp ;quot; whose innovative treatment combined both chemo and immunotherapy ", says the patient who is now stabilized at 75%.

Also read: For Dr. André Mathieu " We must put patients at the heart of the fight against cancer "

While the treatment is heavy and restrictive, the physical and psychological adverse effects " terrible " according to this mother and wife, Isabelle one fine day, in Nîmes, pushed the door of the departmental committee of the league, first to receive psychological support."At that time, I was living with cancer, I was talking and even sleeping with cancer! Locked in the illness, I came out thanks to the League", confides this woman who found, here, between the beauty sessions and the adapted sports classes of what to escape for a bit, take care of herself,  "and somehow relive".

" Due to a lack of early diagnosis, I came close to amputating part of my foot! "

Marie-Joëlle, 70, volunteers at the League Against Cancer. Mikael Anisset – Midi Libre

For his skin cancer to finally be diagnosed, he had to push through the door of the Nîmes hospital. " The three successive dermatologists that I had seen in town assured me that it was nothing! ", remembers Marie-Joëlle Ribord, retired today.

In 2015, a pimple which grew, before forming a painful, disabling wound under the foot of the energetic Nîmes quality manager of a finished automobile group – Finally ! – by being the subject of a biopsy. For the sixty-year-old the ax falls: melanoma, or skin cancer, in this case very rare. Namely this type of cancer for which, due to lack of possible treatment, the – alone – The solution remains surgery. " Due to a lack of early diagnosis, I came close to amputating part of my foot ", says Marie -Joëlle Ribord who came out with an excision, or removal of flesh, under the foot, of a size equivalent to that of a tennis ball.

" Following a graft, the skin of my thigh now covers my arch ", confides Marie-Joëlle, 70 years old today ;today, who, after overcoming this period mixing worry, fear and physical pain " terrible during healing ", ensures that you see life more than ever in a positive way. And always have this irrepressible desire to move forward within the body.

I subscribe to read more