“Woman from Mother to Daughter” is the photographic exhibition inaugurated on Friday, January 16, at the initiative of the Alpes-Maritimes committee of the League Against Cancer and the city of Nice. From January 16 to 30, the Raoul Mille library in Nice will host this exhibition, aimed at fighting cervical cancer.
As part of the 8th European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, the League Against Cancer and the city of Nice wanted to offer the public a photographic exhibition. Portraits of mothers and daughters residing in the Alpes-Maritimes department are displayed. The goal: to encourage women aged 25 to 65 to get screened and get vaccinated against HPV*.
“The League Against Cancer was created in 1918. It conducts research to fight cancer. The League supports patients and their families and works on prevention and information concerning screening. As part of this mission, we have noticed a difficulty in spreading the message. We decided to reach out to people, to talk to them about the importance of screening, in a place where cancer is not normally discussed: a library,” explains Gérard Van den Blucke, doctor with the League in the Alpes-Maritimes department.
An alarming report
“In France, every year, 1,000 women die from cervical cancer, and 3,300 new cases are detected. The situation is alarming. In other European countries like Sweden or Finland, women do not develop this cancer because they all undergo screening and get vaccinated against the HPV virus. It is important to know that 70% of cancers are due to this virus. The vaccine helps prevent and avoid cancer. It’s important,” says Dr. Maurice Schneider, President of the Alpes-Maritimes committee of the League Against Cancer.
To address this situation, Dr. Schneider emphasizes the necessity of vaccinating girls aged between 11 and 14: “Two injections are enough. As for screening, it is a simple vaginal smear that the general practitioner can perform. From the age of 25, screening is essential every year for three years. If everything is normal, it is repeated every three years.”
According to Dr. Christiane Amiel-Dinges, municipal councilor, only 40% of women are regularly monitored in France for the prevention of this cancer. Thus, more than half of French women are at risk, due to fear of the vaccine. The committee president also regrets certain preconceived notions about the vaccine. “Today, we have an effective means to fight this female cancer, but the French mentality has something against the vaccine”.
