At 38, Sophie Reis was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to compile her research and learnings (in collaboration with doctors) into A gift of cancer, a comprehensive guide for people with cancer. We met her.
Sophie Reis is the kind of woman who moves mountains. Author, consultant and speaker, she worked for a long time in telecommunications before co-founding La Ruche, a crowdfunding platform for businesses. The first book of this mother of two children aged 7 and 10, The guide for traveling parentsaimed to simplify family travel, much like his second, A gift of cancerwhere she wants to help people with cancer.
A handy tool
She receives us at her home and we feel her feverish, a few days before the release of her book, a complete 634-page guide in which she has compiled all the information we need to know about cancer. Written with the help of many doctors, professors and researchers, this book is a real practical tool where all the medical vocabulary is explained. Words like metastasis, tumour, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biopsy, ultrasound or mastectomy will hold no secrets for you. She also gives 100 tips and complementary therapies that allow you to better live this ordeal that is cancer.
I was looking for this book when I was diagnosed with breast cancer on December 4, 2020. I couldn’t find it, so I decided to write it.
Sophie Reis
“The action was my lifeline, because when you receive a diagnosis of cancer, you have five minutes with the attending physician. People are left to themselves, they turn to social networks where there is mutual aid, but do they really find the right answers to their questions? I don’t think so, and this book is there for that, it’s a real need for patients. »
For Sophie Reis, being well informed is fundamental, we must know our rights as a patient. “This book is two years of listening, of treatments, of questions asked to medical specialists, it is also my own journey. »
She was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at age 38, despite having no family history. His first instinct was to inform himself and surround himself well.
“I declared myself the CEO of my health and, in a way, I constituted, to support me, my board of directors made up of doctors and paramedical professionals, such as a naturopath, an acupuncturist, an osteopath. I also read Radical remission: surviving cancer despite the worst prognoses by Kelly A. Turner. »
She then discovers that in addition to the traditional medical protocol, one can, to promote one’s well-being, receive complementary treatments. “There are all sorts of things you can do, there is obviously physical exercise which is important, healthy eating, adequate sleep, meditation, acupuncture integrated into the oncological course, there is massage therapists specializing in oncology, adapted yoga, aromatherapy, art therapy, music therapy, osteopathy, the benefits of baths and spa treatments, and it’s endless,” she says. .
When patients take part in their care process, there is an important notion of commitment, and when you are involved in the process, the results are better.
Sophie Reis
“So let’s find solutions together, with the medical and paramedical teams. We are behind in Quebec, because elsewhere in the world, in Switzerland, France or Germany, for example, complementary care is integrated into traditional oncology medical practice. The paramedic team can include notes in the patient’s file, it’s a team effort, it’s a linear follow-up, these treatments are complementary, it’s part of the protocol, it’s not one or the other, but both of them,” she insists.
A new start
Cancer changed Sophie Reis’ life forever. “It’s time to reflect on what we really want in the future, we review our priorities, we clean up our lives. In my case, it’s a new start, I’m changing careers, I’m redesigning my life… You know, post-cancer is never easy,” she confides.
The hardest thing for her, who is a very organized woman, was losing control. “I like to plan, but when you receive your diagnosis, everything stops. Living in ambiguity has been difficult for me and psychologically. What kept me in control was having the option of not losing my hair thanks to the cooling helmet. It was also a real obsession, beyond my hair, it was a way to have control. »
PHOTO FROM SOPHIE REIS WEBSITE
Sophie Reis, with the cooling helmet, during her treatment
She’s even joined the non-profit organization haircare.org, which serves to educate women and clinicians on the use of the cooling cap, which involves wearing a cap that cools the scalp before, during and after chemotherapy. “It’s difficult, it’s unpleasant, I admit it, it takes willpower, the cost can be reimbursed by your insurance… but above all, it should be accessible to everyone”, she believes.
Sophie Reis wants her book to have an impact on the lives of patients, caregivers, and that it goes into the hands of the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. “Our clinicians need to be able to think and act differently, in the interest of the patient, his well-being and his vitality. There is no greater stress than the thought of losing your life. There are many faces to cancer, each experience is unique, I tell mine… Cancer can end just as well. »
A gift of cancer
Sophie Reis
Editions Trecarré
634 pages