For Dr André Mathieu “We must put patients at the heart of the fight against cancer”

Le docteur Mathieu inaugurera les états généraux de la lutte contre le cancer le 24 avril au musée de la Romanité. C .S. – Midi Libre

On April 24, at the Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes, the States General of the fight against cancer will be held. Interview a few days before the event with the president of the League in Gard, André Mathieu.

The Gard committee of the League Against Cancer is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Can you remind our readers of its different missions ?

This association, which is not a medical care organization, offers patients affected by cancer the free benefit of so-called “support” care. ; contributing to their remission, namely psychological support, sports practice and nutrition education. The Cancer League also offers these patients and their loved ones various social and financial assistance. If two thirds of our activity is devoted to this skills base, the remaining third, more media-oriented, is financial support for research. On this point, moreover, the League is the leading private financier of scientific research against cancer in France!

In Gard, how is the activity of the League organized in practice?

In the four corners of France, all our departmental committees have very broad autonomy in their functioning. In the Gard, my predecessors have thus   was keen to ensure a certain geographical proximity between patients and the League. No less than ten delegations thus network the territory of the department. In these delegations, 120 active volunteers (mostly people already directly or indirectly affected by cancer, but not only) offer the supportive care previously mentioned. A mission in ;which these volunteers can rely on, for one-off missions, on the valuable support of our approximately 3 500 members.

In 2023, in Gard, 674 people benefited from support from the League, which represents an increase of 40% compared to the previous year! A leap forward which can be explained, perhaps, by active communication on our various services and the extension of the range of our care, initially supportive, to so-called " of comfort " (having a demonstrated impact not on the patient's healing but on their general well-being, Editor's note) and made possible thanks to the constant generosity of our donors. A generosity which has generally not suffered a downward impact, whether during covid or since the start of the economic crisis.

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

This year, the 25th General Assembly of the fight against cancer is taking place in Nîmes. What should we expect??

25 years ago, under the leadership of Professor Pujol, then national president, the League made a profound shift by deciding to put the patient at the heart of the fight against cancer. This year, for the 70th anniversary of the Gard committee of the League, we wanted to reconnect with this dynamic. At the Musée de la Romanité on April 24, far from scientific events, traditional conferences and seminars, focused on the work of professionals, the words of patients will therefore be the guiding principle of the various interventions and round tables which the public will be able to attend free of charge and by reservation.

Patients, former patients, relatives of cancer patients called to testify during this day will share with us their experiences with the disease, its evolution, the treatments… hellip; Men and women from whom we should learn a lot. And which will, without a doubt, offer us strong, very intense moments. 

Meeting: April 24, at the Musée de la Romanité

8:30 a.m. Home
9 a.m.: preamble to the 70th anniversary of the Gard committee by its president André Mathieu;
9:30 a.m.: opening: 25 years of the General States of the fight against cancer by Daniel Nizri  and Henri Pujol;
10 a.m.: health policies: city of Nîmes, metropolis and Departmental Council;
10:30 a.m. patient testimonials: life journey;
10:45 a.m. Break – exchange with the Gard committee team;
11 a.m. Presentation of different supportive care by Grégory Ninot – university researcher;
12h patient round table: benefits and expectations in supportive care;
1 p.m. lunch/buffet discussion with the Gard committee team;
2 p.m. patient testimonials;
2:20 p.m. presentation: inequalities in access to care and screening by Catherine Simonin;
3:20 p.m. presentation: end-of-life care by Claire Fourcade;
3:30 p.m. break and discussion with the Gard committee team;
3:45 p.m. round table: the specific needs of caregivers;
4:30 p.m. presentation: advances in research, particularly on the emotional experience of patients treated with chemotherapy;
5 p.m. round table: patient expectations and needs;
5:45 p.m. closing of the general statements and perspectives;
7 p.m.-9 p.m. General meeting presented by President André Mathieu and the director of the Gard Cancer League Ricardo Domingues.

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