His words are rare. These last years, Catherine Matausch faced several challenges, in terms of health, but not only. The former presenter of France 3’s 19/20 had to overcoming the death of his motherwhich occurred during the year 2021. Before that, it also fought lung cancer. A disease detected at an early stage, which may have been treated without chemotherapy, but with an operation. “In the left lung, we have two lobes. I had my upper lobe removed“, explained the 63-year-old journalist, on the set of Health magazinelast November.
After her operation, for which she prepared with the help of a sophrologist hypnotherapistCatherine Matausch developed other disorders“cancer favors autoimmune diseases“, she specifies. Today, the one who moved away from the little skylight make the most of every moment. On the occasion of World Cancer Day, celebrated this Sunday, February 4, she returns to Gala.fr about this disease “scary“, but who also allowed us to see life in a new light. Confidences.
Gala.fr: Under what circumstances did you discover that you had lung cancer?
Catherine Matausch : I had surgery on December 2, 2020. A few months before, I saw a pulmonologist with a chest x-ray. I didn’t feel good about this meeting. I saw a second pulmonologist who detected a tiny little spot and didn’t let it go.
Gala.fr: What were your symptoms at the time of this appointment?
Catherine Matausch : I was coughing a lot, I wasn’t in great shape and I was suffering from dilated bronchi (a DDB, editor’s note). Thanks to this second pulmonologist, I felt taken care of. She didn’t let go of this little point and she wanted to understand. Finally, I had surgery at the Foch hospital in Suresnes and it was during the operation that the surgeon detected that I had cancer.
“I was really lucky that my cancer was caught in time”
Gala.fr: At what stage was your cancer detected?
Catherine Matausch : I had surgery at the right time. I was lucky because I didn’t have chemotherapy or radiotherapy, it wasn’t very advanced cancer. When people ask me about this disease, I don’t have the feeling of having enjoyed it, even if all cancer weakens the body. But I was really lucky that it was caught in time.
Gala.fr: How did you react after this announcement?
Catherine Matausch : It was my surgeon who was worried because he wondered if I really realized what I had. I don’t know if it’s linked to my job as a journalist, but I had the feeling of coping with it without difficulty. I was in the moment, so maybe the news was reassuring, but it didn’t upset me. I felt like I had to go into battle. I, who am highly sensitive, know how to cope in the most difficult moments, a family heritage… My doctor surely wondered if I was not in denial, because I did not show any worry. I think I have a very strong survival instinct.
“I warned my daughters as late as possible”
Gala.fr: Were you afraid of dying?
Catherine Matausch : No no, even if you are very weak, if you take morphine, I had confidence. I was well surrounded, first by my loved ones and then by this young surgeon Matthieu Glorion, my pulmonologist, who did not give up, and the nurses. It gives you strength. You receive energy, confidence, it is fundamental to fight against the disease.
Gala.fr: You are the mother of two girls. Did you talk to your loved ones about it right away?
Catherine Matausch : I’m discreet, so I warned my daughters as late as possible, I didn’t want to worry them for nothing. When the operation approached, I finally spoke to them. They were great, in the fight too. In these moments, we tend to withdraw a bit like an animal. I didn’t want to dwell on it, including with my family. Not to mention that it was in the middle of a pandemic and Covid was already generating a lot of concern.
Gala.fr: Why did you decide to talk about it publicly?
Catherine Matausch : Sharing experience is fundamental. And obviously, I was right, because I got lots of feedback. I think it does people good to know that we are all on the same boat. There’s a kind of brotherhood that’s taking hold. Saying things, naming the illness without taboo, also helps fight against loneliness. Saying things is relieving and allows you to reach out to others.
Gala.fr: What did this ordeal teach you about yourself?
Catherine Matausch : Cancer made me realize that existence itself is a miracle. Being alive is a gift, so you have to live up to that gift. What do we do with it? What is useful for me to get better? Because there was this cancer and then other illnesses arrived, as if my body was giving up on me. I broke two vertebrae, which is very painful. Cancer promotes autoimmune diseases, I declared one of them, debilitating.
Gala.fr: Alongside cancer, you experienced three difficult years…
Catherine Matausch : There was also the death of my mother, who meant a lot in my life. In addition to these chronic pains which reach vital momentum, three years later, I found this momentum again. Since last Christmas, my pain has been completely controlled with cortisone and I am living again! The simple fact of walking with my dogs, of being in contact with nature, has once again become an immense joy. These are simple things, but cancer taught me this: to rediscover the taste for living and doing things with this enthusiasm, this vitality that had left me.
Gala.fr: How are you today? Are you cured?
Catherine Matausch : We can say it. It’s a rebirth. I feel like a page has been turned on my health. I am well taken care of and can fully nourish the life within me again. Every morning there is a feeling of renewal. You just have to give yourself time, be lenient with yourself, surround yourself well and remain open to others, to the world, because the illness has a tendency to confine you.
Gala.fr: Do you continue to be monitored medically today?
Catherine Matausch : Of course. It seems to me that the checks last five years after cancer. We don’t say it enough, but how lucky to have social security, which takes care of everything. In another country, health expenses would be added to illness, the double penalty, we must be aware of that.
Gala.fr: A word to conclude?
Catherine Matausch : As long as we are alive, we must ask ourselves: what am I doing to nourish the life within me? When you have cancer, you shouldn’t let go of this idea and stay the course. I recognize that it can become very complicated when there is extreme, invasive, sometimes overwhelming fatigue. Today, many techniques can help us better manage illness, even from our sofa or bed, using our computer. We have access to the words of so many health professionals today, but also to the words of patients. I am thinking of this franceinfo journalist, Clémentine Vergnaud, who died of cancer last December. She was 31 years old. His podcast My life facing cancer is to be listened to, it is a testimony of great strength, it is in life even in death. She said something very true: ‘being sick is a full-time job.’ Illness is one of the unexpected events of life, it is an obstacle to overcome, we must give ourselves every chance without ever forgetting that the mind and the body are partners in waging this fight.
Photo credits: Vincent Manniez