Stalling, Dordogne calls for a start

noOntron, a very pale pink area. Less than 40% of women aged 50 to 74 years, targeted by the National Breast Cancer Screening Campaign, broadcast by the Regional Center for Coordination of Cancer Screening in Nouvelle Aquitaine, respond to this call. Much lower than the regional participation rate of 46.8%, and much lower than the 44% in the Dordogne. Low numbers that can be explained…

noOntron, a very pale pink area. Less than 40% of women aged 50 to 74 years, targeted by the National Breast Cancer Screening Campaign, broadcast by the Regional Center for Coordination of Cancer Screening in Nouvelle Aquitaine, respond to this call. Much lower than the regional participation rate of 46.8%, and much lower than the 44% in the Dordogne. Health workers confirm that the decreasing numbers are “mainly explained by the impact of the 2020 pandemic, but not only.”

“It’s an opportunity”

“In Bergerac or Périgord, women are screened more. We notice regional differences, and a slight lack of participation from the agricultural population. “The Périgord region is witnessing a decline in breast cancer screening, hence our call,” confirms Didier Coutaud, director of the department’s Regional Health Agency. To work again and again in the field of prevention.

And what could be better than giving the patient a voice to advocate for the benefits of screening? “Mammography is an opportunity, and screening saves lives,” says Catherine Cross, 57, a nursing assistant at the private Frenchville hospital in Périgueux. It was the Pink October rig, installed at his workplace, that showed interest in self-breast groping over the bust, which served as the trigger.

“I was with my patients. I said, ‘Go ahead, touch it.’ And I realized I had spotted this same ball without giving it any importance or even imagining that it might be smart. It was 2021, and I rushed to get a mammogram. “Within one week,” Katherine says. “Only because I talked about my feelings, I had a date.”

“We notice regional differences, and a slight lack of participation from the agricultural population.”

The biopsy, the cancer diagnosis, the operation, everything happened so quickly. Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, Catherine went through many ordeals. Today, all she wants to do is tell women “not to put the little invitation to the show in the corner and forget about it. “It’s an opportunity we must seize.”

“move towards”

In the camera lens in particular, vulnerable and disabled women, those furthest from care. The Dordogne region has chosen a “go-to” strategy. “The first mammogram should go well, it is essential. “Whether she is disabled or not, a woman is always worried,” says Dr. Audie Magontier, a radiologist at the Périgueux Hospital Center. Early detection of cancer, which kills 12,000 Every year, a woman is treated nine times out of ten.

She stresses that for the disabled patient, “it is first and foremost a human story.” You have to take some time when making an appointment. The radiologist says the psychological aspect is key. It will take twice as long to get dressed and undressed. We need to exchange and cancel the drama. Once a person understands that he can overcome it, things move forward. »

The Primary Health Insurance Fund launched a pilot platform in France in 2005 to contact women who had not had mammograms, with an appointment booking rate of 25%.

Among the many structures mobilized, there is of course the Périgueux Hospital Centre. An information platform in the hall, one-on-one interviews, promotion of breast self-examination, and partnerships with midwives, radiology centers, and treating physicians, Dordogne will put the Turbo into practice. It’s up to women to take the call.