My involvement with colorectal cancer began when my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 BRAF V600E mutation at the age of 42. Faced with the terrible prognosis, I began to research ways of giving him access to as many treatment options as possible, which are far fewer in France than in the USA. It was thanks to COLONTOWN that we discovered an early-phase clinical trial in Belgium in which my husband was enrolled in his third line of treatment and which enabled him to gain 6 months of life without disabling side effects.
As there is no European colorectal cancer patient and caregiver group, we created one within COLONTOWN to facilitate the exchange of information between Europeans. COLONTOWN and the resources of COLONTOWN University are an immense source of learning and empowerment for patients and caregivers. Gaining autonomy enables patients and their loved ones to discuss with their medical teams and make informed choices, sometimes even finding new treatment options.
Alongside COLONTOWN, I am also involved in France (Mon Réseau Cancer Colorectal) and Europe (Digestive Cancers Europe) to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, and to represent and support patients and their families.
I hold two master’s degrees in language didactics and have worked for some fifteen years in the field of language learning and teaching, particularly with technologies and around the issue of empowering learning.
I’m delighted to be able to contribute to the collective work of PALTOWN and COLONTOWN as curator of the Alanna Project, which collects patient-reported clinical trials experiences from COLONTOWN members.