“60 Millions de consommateurs” was interested in women’s health, and the magazine’s editorial immediately announced that it was a struggle to publish this special issue.
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60 million consumers publishes a special issue on women’s health this month. Sophie Coisne, editor-in-chief of the magazine, returns to this investigation.
franceinfo: You say in your editorial that you had to fight to release this issue. For what ?
Sophie Coisne: Many of the subjects in this issue are taboo, and it is estimated that not enough women are interested in these specific issues. They are often quicker to take an interest in the health of those close to them than in themselves. It is already necessary to fight against preconceived ideas. We talk a lot about breast cancer, but women are, above all, exposed to cardiovascular diseases and they do not always know it: 204 women die every day from cardiovascular disease, compared to 35 from breast cancer. Of course, we are not going to oppose diseases, but this medical area around the heart is very neglected by women. However, they have adopted the same bad habits as men: tobacco, a sedentary lifestyle, junk food.
Should you take your blood pressure regularly and, after menopause, is it better to be followed by a cardiologist?
Above all, you need to talk to your doctor about the health of your heart and arteries, talk to them about your changes in habits, such as resuming smoking for example, and be vigilant at specific moments in your life, in particular, in fact, at the time of menopause. The female hormones estrogen protect women’s arteries. However, at menopause, these hormones collapse and suddenly, the arteries become much more sensitive.
The other lesson from your survey is the lack of gynecologists. In 13 years, their number has fallen by 65%. How to explain it?
These are medical gynecologists. On the one hand, there was a cessation of training for around ten years for these health professionals. And, like obstetricians, when they retire they are more and more often replaced by people who do not necessarily work the same amount of hours. In the magazine, we give some keys to women who cannot find a gynecologist because many other professionals can carry out their medical follow-up, which it is really important not to abandon.
Regarding breast cancer, has treatment evolved to help patients get through treatment periods?
Yes. There is more and more supportive care, that is to say care that will help women to better tolerate treatments and side effects, and to feel stronger morally and psychologically. More and more establishments are offering them for free, or at low cost. We are tackling another cancer, that of the uterus, which must disappear. A screening campaign is currently being launched and is working even better than breast cancer screening, which is good news. Uterine cancer can truly be prevented, both through screening and by vaccinating our children.
And osteoporosis. Here too, is screening important?
Absolutely, because this screening allows you to know if you have bone fragility. If this is the case, there are long-term treatments that can resolve it and you should change your lifestyle, adopt a certain level of hygiene and practice certain sports, and have a diet based on products. dairy, calcium to correct a deficit.
In general, how can we explain that women do not take more care of their health?
Lack of time, lack of information. A study showed, for example, that in the event of heart attack symptoms, women call for help 37 minutes later for themselves than for their husbands, which is a shame! In fact, we realize that they are more concerned with the health of their loved ones and minimize their own worries and pain. Doctors don’t always hear their complaints either, especially regarding pain, which they sometimes consider to be psychological problems instead of looking for a physiological cause.