Here's some great news to kick off the week as it looks like Anne Caroline Chausson is recovering well from her second bout of cancer. Three months after her surgery, and after finishing a course of tomotherapy (radiotherapy), she's back out riding bikes again.
| OMG... so good to be able to ride my mountain bike 3 months after surgery. That will help me so much to stay strong . Tomotherapy is finish and Chemo starts in one week—Anne Caroline Chausson |
Original storyAnne-Caroline Chausson, the most decorated mountain bike racer in history with 16 World Championship gold medals and an Olympic BMX gold medal, is on the road to recovery after a second cancer surgery.
The athlete from Dijon, France had to retire from racing the Enduro World Series part-way through the 2015 season after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After surgery, it seemed like she had made a full recovery and was back on the bike and as fast as ever (I followed her in Annecy in 2017 and she was on fire!). Unfortunately, Anne has announced on her social channels that she had to have another surgery late in 2018 after another tumor was found in her thorax.
She is currently undergoing chemo and radiation therapy which will end at the end of this winter.
We here at Pinkbike wish her all the best and hope to see her Brooaapingg again soon.
Anne on FacebookAnne on Instagram
Each time I see "war" language around cancer I think about this article below which is trying to change how we reffer to and treat cancer.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/28/stop-fighting-cancer-ordinary-illness-language
It looks like a good idea, no?
And I'm personally interested in the topic since my own wife is being treated for breast cancer now.
I do not believe that this all-or-nothing approach serves the ones affected in the longer term. Many of them will have to live with cancer for many years, they should learn to just live their normal lives as much as possible and not be "fighting the war on cancer" for the rest of their days.
Far be it for me to assume the authors motives, but linking to another article which does not reference the poll he bases his core argument on is not a good start. Nor is referencing a disgraced organisation which has a dubious and self-serving recent history: www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-17668482 and who's recently relaunched website conveniently coincides with the publication of this 'poll'.
While I'm sure you mean well, you are possibly misguided in this situation. Consider, someone with cancer is fighting against the very real prospect of losing their life; Treating every day as any other may not be the best approach. Restricting the terms they may choose as they go through what is essentially a terrifying and lonely experience isn't going to help anyone. Many cancer survivors speak very positively about the perspective they're given when faced with the possibility of losing their life prematurely, and the inspiration they derive from the strength they display when dealing with their illness, and the humility that they learn and the humanity they find in the inevitable periods when it feels like all is lost.
I've never had cancer. But I do live with an illness which has the ever-present (though thankfully unlikely) potential to kill me. It's not an all-of-nothing thing though, I frequently struggle with a seemingly endless list of painful and frustrating symptoms, which medication cannot address. So, if cancer is a war then I'm under siege. Having the mindset that I am battling something, and that I might win, even just that day is good for me. Using aggressive language when I speak about it with my friends and family helps to focus me and reassures them that I'm not simply going to lie down and let my life be run on my condition's terms. It's up to each of us to find what does and doesn't work for us. If aggressive language doesn't work for someone, that's fine. But don't take it away from those of us who find it beneficial.
I wish your wife all the best in her recovery.
Must though say that it feels strange that there is no crowd funding event, no talk about how tough it must be for her family and that we should all help out dispite there being a medical insurance covering it all.
Is it because she is a woman or because she live in Europe...? Sorry if I step on someone's toes but it just makes me wonder.
Bisoux et reste forte!!
xx
Go and hassle someone else