"I could die of my cancer from covid"

Rosa has been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, which has been incurable for eight years. She testifies on our site of her revolt in the face of the current situation for patients like her, after Macron’s remarks on the deprogramming of operations. An invitation to think about acting quickly for more solidarity.

Rosa is ill and has been fighting to stay alive for 8 years. She was shocked by Emmanuel Macron's announcements concerning measures in hospitals facing the second wave of Covid-19, which consist in particular of "Deprogram heart or cancer operations – sometimes the same ones that must have been postponed in the spring."
She testifies to her situation and her revolt in the face of the turn that the pandemic is taking.

The revolt in the face of immobility

"I fight every day to stay alive and since the Covid has arrived in France and in the world it is increasingly hard for people with chronic illness". Rosa gets straight to the point: the pandemic is deeply unfair for people with chronic diseases: "I am awaiting a clinical trial, and the resources at the research center were all allocated to covid in the first wave." With the second arriving, the fears are strong, as is the anger. These injustices are compounded by a situation that could have been avoided.
"In a country which has an exceptional health system, which has social protection which remains among the most successful, I never imagined that I would perhaps die of a lack of care!" Rosa emphasizes. Indeed, the president said, operations, screenings will have to be suspended and postponed. In France, 1000 people a day learn that they have cancer; there may be a delay in screening.
"The sad thing is that all of this could have been avoided: as much as the first wave was incredible and we had never experienced it before, this pandemic accelerated by global population movements, the second wave was predictable!"
Rosa warns: "What will happen to cancer patients during the second wave, we have already experienced in the first: suspended care. From a technical point of view, we can understand it". This is still the case today with the triggering of the white plans: "Me personally it revolts me because I struggle every day to stay alive, and I did not expect to find myself in a situation where I will die of lack of care because of the carelessness of the government, which announces this measure with an indecent casualness ! "
Rosa is lucky: her care has not been interrupted as she is in clinical trials. However, she never imagined she was afraid of not being taken care of.

How did we get here ? The deleterious situation of hospitals has been highlighted by social actors and mobilisations for a year. This situation stems from ten years of bed closure policies, and the neglect of nursing staff. "We are still one of the OECD countries where nurses are the lowest paid!" rages Rosa.
Ludivine Bantig, historian, documents this: "We know that 100,000 hospital beds have been closed in 20 years, including 3,400 last year. Since March, there has now been no immediate opening of beds, despite promises. No opening in particular in Île-de-France, particularly affected. "
However, these choices have very concrete consequences: Rosa knows for example that if she catches the coronavirus, she will not go through the hospital door because of her high threshold of comorbidity, because in a health crisis situation, doctors must to make choices.

"We have entered the world of 'every man for himself, every man for his skin'"

Rosa's days are numbered, she says it herself. However, she does not feel supported, neither by associations, nor by political power, nor simply by her fellow citizens.
"We are in a society that does not talk about cancer, we are invisible, we are asked to stay at home!" The speeches of some who do not care about confinements and barrier gestures, feeling protected by their own physical condition? "The fact of saying 'that does not concern me' is particularly inhuman: you all have a father, a mother, a relative whom you can endanger! I am struck by the fact that solidarity, we do not have it view, fraternity we have not seen, humanity we have not seen, we have entered the world of each for himself each his skin! "
This lack of solidarity is also expressed by those who think that it would be enough to confine the fragile people. To this Rosa replies: "We did not wait to confine ourselves, us and our spouses! Because of that the only life I have now is my job and my husband, I no longer have any leisure and life that I have. let me look at something other than my cancer! "
She denounces a society which makes the sick invisible. Even sickness aid associations seem out of touch, according to her.
"My days are numbered and I am not the only one, this problem has been denied for 9 months by the large associations known as representative of cancer patients. Axel Kahn, president of the League against cancer, has occupied the TV sets since March talking very little about cancer. There was a lot of talk about the elderly, medical controversies while declaring that there were no major problems for so-called cancer patients… "
What associations can really help to find strength to fight on a daily basis? Few seem to really care about the daily lives of patients, according to Rosa. "I discovered two, which are not political in nature, but provide support: the Belle et Bien association, and Rose Up. "
These two small structures bring courage, comfort, listening, representation. Some would do well to draw inspiration for their decisions.

Video by mylene.wascowiski

Video by Sarah polak