Step into June : CSF Activity for Life 2026
“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
Touchlines - July 2026
Welcome to the July, summer issue of Touchlines
https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/736778/emails/189461343223416355
Anti-cancer Fund : My Cancer Navigator
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
Juin Vert “Green June” - Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
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.
Cancer Support France AGM 2026
Wednesday 15th April saw twenty one Cancer Support France affiliate CSF Association Presidents and National Council representatives – all volunteers – from across the country gather in Cahors for Cancer Support France (National) Annual General Meeting.
Cancer Support France (National) President, Carol Quinlan welcomed everyone to the meeting before presenting her Presidents’ Report. National Vice-President, Penny Parkinson presented the work she has been leading on Partnerships. There was an opportunity to discuss the Treasurer’s Report, Training, Marketing & Communications and Helplines reports, all of which had been circulated prior to meeting. All six reports were subsequently approved by the meeting attendees.
The Election of Bureau members followed.
Congratulations to Carol, Penny, Karen Blewett, Jean Winter and Karen Guy, who were all elected unanimously.
Before the AGM was formally closed, Carol led an interesting and lively session about “Looking Forward”.
The following day the National Bureau and National Council representatives all reconvened for a Development Meeting, one of just two opportunities a year for Cancer Support France (National) and the local Associations to meet face-to-face to discuss plans, progress and future developments.
Sharing Bon Coeur
Bon Coeur, an association dedicated to raising funds for many charitable causes, has made substantial donations to Cancer Support France over many years.
Bon Coeur runs a charity shop as well as holding a number of events. Charles Miskin, their President, was granted honorary membership of Cancer Support France in 2024 in recognition of this unwavering support. Charles usually joins us for our Annual General Meeting which enables us to thank him personally, however this year he cannot be with us.
As a “thank you,” we would like to publicise on behalf of Bon Coeur their two main events, details of which you can see on the posters. You can find out more about Bon Coeur on their website which also has lots of information on the history of the association, the charities it supports and the distribution of their funds.
Thank you Bon Coeur, and Charles
https://www.boncoeur47.fr/
CSF Supporting the World Cancer Day ‘Upside Down’ Challenge
Today, Cancer Support France is proud to support World Cancer Day, which is held every year on the 4th of February. The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) first launched this initiative on 4th February 2000 to raise awareness, promote research and mobilise global health communities, to fight cancer.
In 2025, World Cancer Day embarked on a three-year campaign called ‘United by Unique’. The aim of this
campaign is to place cancer patients at the centre of cancer care.
‘Unique’, in recognition that everyone’s cancer journey is unique to them, and ‘United’, because it will take all of us, together, to look beyond the diagnosis and see the person, before the patient.
World Cancer Day 2025 made a huge impact :
- More than 900 different activities took place in 102 countries around the world
- Over 1,000 individuals shared their experiences on social media via the Upside Down Challenge,
flipping pictures to show how cancer had turned their lives upside down - More than 600 stories were shared on the World Cancer Day website, including the stories of twelve families
documented in photos throughout 2025 via the ’12 people, 12 cameras, 12 months’ initiative - The campaign also made waves online, with six billion impressions and nine million interactions across different platforms, including dedicated posts by influential figures such as the Princess of Wales, singer Kylie Minogue, FC Barcelona, and the Nobel Prize Institution. 2026 will see more people sharing their stories.
To find out more about this incredible campaign and follow its progress, visit the World Cancer Day website at https://www.worldcancerday.org/
Cancer Support France supports World Cancer Day by continuing to raise awareness of the campaign on social media and in the press, and many of our regional Associations will be organising local events on and around 4th February, several of which are highlighted here.
If you have been touched by cancer and you need support, telephone us on 0800 240 200 or email us at: . One of our team will contact you within 24 hours.
Here is a selection of some of the Cancer Support France events taking place across France to mark World Cancer Day:
Welcome to AngloInfo and Franco-British Network
Cancer Support France is delighted to announce two new partnerships – with AngloInfo and Franco-British Network (FBN).
Most people will be aware of AngloInfo, an organisation which operates across more than 30 countries and prides itself on helping with everything that might be needed for an ex-pat life. FBN is now extending its coverage across France from its original roots in the Dordogne.
In France, AngloInfo has 19 regional associations which enable it to provide information tailored to your area. Each regional website has a Directory, together with Classified Ads, What’s On, Property News and so on. AngloInfo has generously given CSF a free listing in all the Directories across its network, with ‘feature’ adverts when possible.
Here is the listing in the Paris Directory:
https://www.angloinfo.com/paris/directory/paris-charities-support-groups-338
The Franco-British Network, which had its beginnings in the Dordogne in 2013, was launched in its current format in 2019. It has now spread from its base, to reach ex-pats across France.
There is extensive information on the ‘real France’, aimed at people looking to move here. In addition, there is a wealth of information for those living and working in France. FBN has also provided CSF with free publicity on its blog page and most importantly, as a banner advert on its home page. Here: https://franco-british-network.com/
Thank you so much to AngloInfo and FBN. CSF aims to reach every Anglophone in France who may have need of its support. Such generous help is an enormous bonus in reaching that aim.
GBNA Santé with Cancer Support France
GBNA Santé is a group of private clinics whose initials mean Groupe Bordeaux Nord Aquitaine. The members of the group are now spread across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region stretching from Cognac to Pau.
The British Consul in Bordeaux, Dominique Olley, who has been working with CSF for many years contacted GBNA to ask them to share the CSF helpline details with their clinics. This request led to the interview which you can see here. We are hugely grateful to all the consular team for their support of CSF.
‘Annual Gathering’ at Hertford British Charitable Fund
Cancer Support France has benefitted this year from a generous grant from Hertford British Charitable Fund which enabled us to run our very successful Active Listener Conference in Bordeaux in early October.
Carol, as National President, and I were invited to attend their ‘Annual Gathering’ which brings together Trustees, Supporters and Stakeholders of HBCF and fell conveniently after our conference. The event was held at the newly renovated Hertford Britsh Hospital in Paris, a magnificent building dating from the 19th century as you can see from the photo.
The evening began with an outline of the work of Hertford British Hospital Charity which merged in January with the British Charitable Fund to create the HBCF. As the two charities both worked to support British people in need in France, the merger brings their skills together.
After the introduction, we were able to network whilst enjoying delicious canapés and bubbly. Between us, Carol and I managed to speak to many of the trustees, explaining the work of CSF, and, in particular, members of the Charitable Giving Committee. We also met with members of other associations who have been awarded grants over the years and hope to have forged useful links for the future.
A very useful, positive and enlightening evening with much to take forward.
Penelope Parkinson
Vice-president