Breast cancer: missed screening at Charente

Not finding an appointment can be a deterrent.

Karen Rondino, 55, a Tofri resident, attests to the difficulty of getting the test. She already has two exams to her credit, as part of the structured course. “Every two years I receive a letter telling me that I need to undergo a medical examination.” The date of the last message is from July. Since then, Karen has been waiting for a chance to meet. However, this 50-something is designed to do these X-rays. “I called, for example, several times”, she is joking. At the Mamo Center in Suyao, in this case, it is located behind the medical center. According to Karen, “Secretaries always give me the same answer, that is, they don’t have schedules for radiologists.”

Two months of waiting

On social networks, other testimonies of Charentes abound in this direction: Martine and Valerie regret waiting for an appointment “Since May” Marilyn also mocks .’s dysfunction ” Prevent “. Miriam makes sure the deadlines are explicit.” Contraindications ».

Sabine Scorcion, M.D., Health Director, Department of Medical Imaging, Angouleme Hospital Centre “A period of two months for a Momo appointment”. “There are a lot of requests and we have problems with the medical staff”, she explained. The result: a mammogram “Not open every day”. the rhythm “Four days a week” Outside school holidays and only one day a week during holidays. Specifying that in the event of a breast abnormality, patients are given priority. In the middle of Sweaux, a radiologist annoyed by the phone: “We are simply facing a shortage of doctors, which reflects the national situation.”

Loss of luck

However, Charente appears to be unevenly affected by this crowding. Within the Department of Medical Imaging at Barbizio Hospital, “We have a delay of three weeks to a month.”, attached medical secretary. Jean-Luc Morenat is the Director of Health Care in the Foundation’s Department of Medical Imaging. evoke ‘A very modern device’ that the hospital is equipped with and that allows the opening of Three whole days a week are for mammography only.. The institution has just added the services of a temporary radiologist dedicated solely to this examination. “And not all our beaches are full,” Jean-Luc Mornier points. The cognac clinic, with a two-week lead time, is seeing more and more “Women who arrive from Angouleme to find a meeting quickly.”

Is this impasse in passing the Mamo a loss of opportunity? At the new Cancer Screening Coordination Center in Aquitaine, Felicie Gagnador, a public health official, realizes this. “Yes, not finding a date can be a deterrent for some women.”

About Michael Harmand, Vice President of the American Cancer Society “Between truth and intent there is a whole world”Whisper on the phone. sorry about that “The department is well-equipped with mammography equipment, which we help fund, but sometimes there’s no radiologist to operate it.”

There are a lot of requests and we have problems with the medical staff.

For Marie-Claude Savoy, Communications Officer at ARS, with nine medical imaging centers on its territory, Charente will be “in the middle”in his vision “The time between calling for the mammogram and performing the examination”. this “Ranges from 2 to 13 weeks in the department depending on geographic location. »

While screening from the age of 50 is sometimes called into question (risk of overdiagnosis or overtreatment in particular), for Laetitia Mallet, the solution to this fact remains self-examination. Poitou-Charentes’ ambassador at Jeune et Rose, an association that supports patients under 50, Gond-Pontolvienne had double breast cancer at ages 26 and 34 that was detected by touch only. “ Many of the women we communicate with have saved their lives.”reminds the person who believes more than ever in this approach.

47.6%

In Charente, only 47.6% of target women participate in structured screeningrecalls Benjamin Gandoet, Director General of the Regional Center for the Coordination of Cancer Screening in New Aquitaine. “Compared to 54.6% on average, in New Aquitaine.” So the challenge facing the health authorities is “to go look” Women are most reluctant to take jobs “Social Inequality in Health”.