According to her, it was a battle lost in advance, as she rightly recalled in the eleven podcasts that she published on the Franceinfo website. Journalist Clémentine Vergnaud died this Saturday, December 23, 2023 at the age of 31, following a nearly eighteen-month battle with aggressive cancer of the bile ducts.. It was on July 6, 2022 that the young woman, then a web journalist specializing in justice and culture, learned that she had cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile ducts, which affects 1 in 50,000 people, and in general elderly men. . She was only 29 years old then.
Guest of C to you on June 15, Clémentine Vergnaud came to promote her web series My life facing cancer: Clémentine’s diarycomposed of eleven podcasts available on the Franceinfo website: “I needed to leave a trace somewhere. This is what I explain in particular when I talk about death, this fear of death, which grips you in your gut. And very quickly, I tell myself that I am 30 years old, I have no children, my professional career is just beginning… If I die in three months, what will be left of me? What will people remember?“ declared the young woman, who then gave reassuring news of her state of health, arguing that her cancer was “stabilized”.
She survived a heart attack two months ago
Unfortunately, last October 11, the young woman gave some less than reassuring news about X, revealing that she had survived a heart attack: “There are several of you asking for news of me, worrying about my silence. I’m fine, rest assured. My last two weeks have been complicated. I came close to death due to a serious heart attack. Now I’m slowly recovering. Of course, there is always the battle against cancer. It will resume soon, hoping that my body is sufficiently recovered and that it tolerates resuming the treatments. Thank you for your support and messages” declared the one who promised her subscribers a season 2 of her web series dedicated to her daily life facing cancer. His last appearance on X was on December 12since she had liked a post by general practitioner Jean-Paul Hamon.
“Why is this happening to me?”
Many France Info journalists paid tribute to their colleague as the holidays approached. Editor-in-chief Cyril Destracque said: “In June, you wrote to me: I will do what I can with the weapons I have… This morning, unfortunately, you lost your battle against cancer, at 31 years old. Clementine, I’m devastated, my eyes are moist. Tender thoughts for your companion and your family”. The journalist Nina Valette reacted, indicating that she had stopped smoking following the announcement of her colleague’s cancer: “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink or drink very little. Why did it have to fall on me ? It was by listening to your words that I decided to stop smoking. And for that, thank you. We think of you, of your loved ones… And I keep in mind your smile on this barge”. Emmanuel Cugny was the first to announce his disappearance: “Clementine will have fought until the end. Against illness and the absurdities of the administration. Leave in peace, dear young and talented colleague of Franceinfo. Courage to those who will continue to love you“.