Cancer Support France

For the first time a joint conference between the national helplines team and association client coordinators was held over 22nd&23rd September at Brive-La-Gaillarde.

The helplines are frequently the first point of contact for people looking for support from CSF, with association coordinators being the link to accessing ongoing support. Nine of the helplines team where able to attend and nine associations were represented by client coordinators, with two of the helpline team having a dual role currently.

The conference aim was to ensure that we are working together to enable clients to access appropriate, consistent information and support across France.

It was an invaluable opportunity to explore each other’s roles while looking at relevant legislation and procedures. There was considerable and often lively discussion with everyone feeling they had benefitted from the event.

I will be looking at opportunities to continue developing the relationships we established for the future.

Carol Quinlan
CSF National President & Helplines Coordinator

Breast cancer awareness month – known as Octobre Rose in France – is a global health campaign observed every year throughout October.

As well as raising awareness, a key aim of Octobre Rose is to encourage early screening. Last year the campaign kicked off on the champs de Mars in Paris with the Eiffel Tower turning sparkling pink; word on the street is that this may happen again this year.

The French health service invites all women aged between 50 and 74 to undergo free breast cancer screening every two years. The programme has been running since 2004 and research shows that early diagnosis saves lives by allowing for early treatment. Book your mammogram now.

If you haven’t received an invitation, talk to your GP or visit https://jefaismondepistage.cancer.fr/cancers-du-sein/ to find out more.

If you are younger than 50 or over 74, don’t hesitate to talk to your GP about any concerns you have.

What’s On around the country?

Here’s a round up of upcoming CSF events in August and September.

On Saturday 25th July 2026 a British cyclist arrived in Paris having completed the 311 mile journey from London to Paris in support of Cancer Support France.

The cyclist, Ewan, was met by a team from CSF Paris Île de France who welcomed him over the finish line with encouraging cheers and applause. We first learned about this endeavour when Ewan contacted CSF National President Carol Quinlan, explaining his story and plans that led him to take on this challenge, asking whether CSF would sponsor him to take part in an organised event that would enable him to raise funds for the association.

Ewan’s parents retired to France more than ten years ago. Just a few years after settling here Ewan’s father was diagnosed with cancer, sadly losing his battle two years later. Cancer Support France trained volunteers supported him throughout his diagnosis and treatment, attending medical appointments, helping with paperwork and providing emotional support to both Ewan’s father and his mother. Ewan describes this support as “an invaluable lifeline during such a troubling time, allowing Dad and our family to better understand and cope with the awful hand we were dealt”.

CSF was able to provide language and emotional support again a few years later when Ewan’s mother faced some health concerns, now thankfully resolved. Ewan told Carol that he decided to take part in the London to Paris event “to express how truly thankful we are. I want to raise as much money and awareness as possible for this amazing cause”

Ewan’s family was supported over the years by trained volunteers from two of our thirteen affiliate regional associations, all of whom provide a completely free and confidential service. Cancer Support France receives no public funding, and every donation received helps us to continue our work supporting English speaking people – of all nationalities – in France touched by cancer.

A closing word from Carol Quinlan : “It was very touching to hear Ewan’s story and learn how CSF helped his family during such a difficult time. We are very grateful to Ewan for sharing his story and for all the hard work that went into planning, training for and achieving his sponsored cycle ride. The donations will help us continue to provide the free, confidential support we offer to English speakers across France touched by cancer”

“We have reached the end of our month-long campaign “Step into June”.
I would like to express my personal “Thank you” to everyone who took part in raising awareness about the work of Cancer Support France throughout France.

Donations received will assist us to develop and deliver services supporting people touched by cancer. Including initial and ongoing training for our Active Listeners and the national helplines that are available 365 days a year.

There have been some amazing stories emerging, well done to everyone who took part in any way.”

Carol Quinlan – Cancer Support France National – President.

Here are a selection of comments from some of this year’s participants :

“As June went by I chose to actively remember all the people I’ve loved who I’ve either lost, or who have been challenged by cancer, and they’ve been with me in my thoughts as I walked, jogged, or meandered through the month of June. Having a focus of a month to remember during Step into June has been a really great experience, and even though I didn’t fundraise this year, it’s really brought home to me the great work CSF do each and every day.” 

“I have supported CSF for many years, and I thought I would do one of my yoga exercises for their awareness campaign last month. I’m very pleased that I completed my efforts and I am already looking forward to Step into June 2027” 

“Like last year’s Activity for Life “Your Way”, I was drawn to the idea of Step into June as a chance to reflect, reset and really enjoy being more active.

As well as more walking, I started swimming lengths again and was thrilled when I managed to do more than I expected. That said, the best part of Step into June for me was being outside, taking deep breaths and really appreciating the beautiful countryside I’m lucky enough to live in.

Taking a few minutes to watch dragon flies over a lovely little river felt so precious, calming and joyful”

“Just to let you know that my tai-chi Walk Fit challenge for June was completed on 2nd July. 28 tai-chi sessions carried out at home over 32 days.

That was the easy part of the challenge –the number of steps that I was supposed to do daily got slightly sabotaged by the heatwave and garden watering(which takes up time and apparently you don’t walk far despite covering the whole garden !), but I managed an average of around 7,000 steps per day – enough to be healthy, but short of my 8,000 per day target. 

I also raised a total of €90 in sponsorship for CSF. I enjoyed the tai-chi and my coordination really improved over the month.

It was good to have the motivation of knowing I would be sharing my progress!” 

If you would like to donate to Step into June, Mary’s fundraising page at Alvarum is still live at : https://www.alvarum.com/marykiddy2

Anti-cancer Fund (a partner of Cancer Support France) is a Belgian registered not for profit association with a mission to seek longer and better lives for people with cancer.

Their Annual Report for 2025 makes interesting reading, highlighting the work they are doing and, in particular, the success of ‘My Cancer Navigator’. This initiative enabled 2,200 people with cancer to receive guidance.

For more information, have a look here, where you will also be able to find the 2025 Annual Report: https://www.anticancerfund.org/en

Did you know that France has been running a national screening programme – le Programme National de Dépistage Organisé du Cancer du Col de l’Utérus – since 2018, and that ‘Juin Vert’ is dedicated to raising awareness and encouraging women to come forward for screening?

Each year over 10 million women in France are screened with around 3,000 cases of cervical cancer being diagnosed. Thanks to screening, monitoring and early treatment of any symptoms, it is possible to prevent cervical cancer developing in 9 out of 10 cases.

Primarily aimed at women between the ages of 25 and 65, it is possible to have a free screening test outside of this age band if you have concerns or if you have not been tested for several years.

Follow this link https://jefaismondepistage.cancer.fr/ressources… for more information in English or speak to your doctor/health practitioner.