By
Solène Lavenu
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2018. Charlotte Dugué gives birth to her third child. After having twins four years earlier, she and her partner decided to have another child. Birth tries. Little Gabin has a heart defect and must be operated on as he is only 10 days old.
But he is two months old now, and all that is now behind the young mother. Gabin is fine. She can go to the postpartum visit with peace of mind. She decided to stop breastfeeding so she felt one small size to breastbut everything is fine. THE gynecologist advises him mammographybut don’t worry, everything is fine. It is necessary to check with one biopsybut everything is fine.
So here she is in her gynecologist’s office to listen to the results. She has her newborn in the pram next to her, everything is fine, but… The doctor finally tells her the worst: she has a breast cancer. A triple negative, which therefore does not respond to hormones.
Charlotte has 30 years. “I am really surprised. It was not possible for me. I could not be sick. The image of this advertisement haunted me for a long time. When treatments In the past, I still had this anxiety, this image, of that day of the announcement, which came back to me several times a day with every little detail,” she confides.
Bear up
2024. Charlotte Dugué is today a real estate consultant. She changed jobs. left her disease on the side of the path. But she still thinks about it often.
It changed me completely.
Today, she no longer looks at life the same way. She takes better care of herself, listens to herself, lives as she has decided and dares to say “no”. “I think more about myself, that’s for sure. The doctor told me: you will see, you will find good sides of your illness. I got there today. »
A panel for 10 euros
At the time of Pink October, Charlotte Dugué would also like to make her contribution. She used social networks to launch an operation to support the cause. She hit upon the idea of hanging up her IAD sale signs. For every sign posted on a business, home, etc., it donates 10 euros to the League Against Cancer.
In a few weeks, 100 panels of Charlotte have appeared on facades in La Hague, where she lives, and even throughout the Cotentin. The panels will be on display throughout the month of October. “I wanted to participate on my own scale, it’s obviously a cause close to my heart.”
Because she knows. She knows how much the small gift from the Heart and Cancer Association at Christmas time brings balm to the heart. She knows the small touches or the simple drawing in the waiting rooms that boost morale. She appreciates the advice, the opinions that allowed her to find the nail polish, the scarf… that could have suited her. “Today, if I can be useful, share my experience, I know that a testimony can help.”
And after the success of the first operation, Charlotte is already planning to repeat the experience next year. And why not launch a new challenge: hang not 100, but 200 panels.
“Hair loss was what I feared the most”
But to get there there was one operationA treatment with one chemotherapy and one radiation therapyfull of consequences that are hard to bear. Like the hair loss, “horrible”, for Charlotte.
“That was what I feared the most. When I went to the hairdresser, a friend, to shave my head before losing my hairi cried, the hairdresser cried and my partner was firm and tried to lighten the mood but it was really very hard. To me, hair is femininity…”
But Charlotte doesn’t let that get her down. She found a “good wig that looked like my haircut, very nice.” She won’t leave her. “I lost my hair, but no one ever saw me bald, not even my husband. I slept with my wig on and only took it off to wash it, locked in the bathroom. »
“Kids make you feel good”
THE bald head is synonymous with illness, and Charlotte does not want to see herself weakened. She needs to be strong for these little ones of two months and four years.
“Today, I don’t know how we did it! But children force you to feel good, that’s for sure. I couldn’t find the words to explain it to them though. I didn’t want to disturb their little lives and get them to worry about mom. I would protect them no matter what. Today the twins are 10 years old. I don’t think they know I had cancer.”
The end of carelessness
It is not a shame, she assures. She always accepted being sick. She doesn’t hide it. Maybe even less today. “It is part of my history and me today. I also have scars that remind me of that. “His hair, which also changed as it grew back. “Hard to accept,” she admits. In order to see the good sides, we had to accept this new body.
“As soon as I had pain, I thought of a metastasis”
You also had to learn to put the illness behind you. After the treatments there were also hypnosis, psychology and sophrology sessions. “As soon as I had pain, I thought about a metastasis. With triple negative cancer, there is nonehormone therapy for five years. And it was hard for me to accept. I felt that if I took this treatment I would have been more protected from relapse. »
She recognizes it easily, the cancer has taken away her serenity, her part of the unconscious. “For example, I smoked I ban myself today. I’m eating healthier, exercising… It’s pretty positive, but I’m doing the best I can because I know it can come back. »
Today she also knows how to see what cancer has brought her. “My husband was a wonderful support, it united us even more. I have friends, a family, I take advantage of it and enjoy every moment. I put things much more into perspective, I do what I want and live in one word! »
No more putting off a trip until tomorrow, a wish for the day after tomorrow. Because she still likes to admit, she still feelsSword of Damocles. Although six years later, the risk of recurrence is decreasing. “I never claimed victory. »
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