[Breast cancer diagnosis among women aged 75 and over: study on information delivered by organized breast cancer screening agencies to women reaching the limit age]

Breast cancer among older women is a major and increasing public health issue. No clear recommendation has been established in France after 74 years, the age limit for state-organised screening program. A survey was performed among all regional agencies in charge of the breast screening to analyse which information is delivered to women reaching the age of 75 years. A postal survey sent to 91 French organised cancer screening agencies. Among the 89 agencies that answered, only 22 deliver a systematic written information. Twelve suggest that mammographic screening should be continued, and five mention clinical examination. Twenty agencies dispatch the screening to general practitioners or gynaecologists. Two information letters insist on the ongoing risk of breast cancer. Most of the written information is given with the last mammography report. No impact study has ever been performed. In our study, only 25% of the screening agencies give systematic information to women. The modalities and the substance of this information are heterogeneous. A better information seems to be a key-point for earlier clinical breast cancer diagnosis among older women, for whom there is little direct evidence of the benefit of systematic mammographic screening.

[Breast cancer's impact on work life. Survey among women of the ELIPPSE cohort]

Working people who are diagnosed with cancer must generally stop working, and returning to work after treatment is a very important issue for them. This article investigates the impact of cancer on professional trajectory among working women after a breast cancer diagnosis. We conducted in-depth interviews with 21 women from the ELIPPSE cohort. They were aged under 40 at cancer diagnosis, and they were interviewed from 16 months to 3 years after diagnosis. Several participants reported a deterioration of their professional situation even before they stopped working, with long-lasting consequences on their daily allowance. Others reported such deterioration during their sick leave. For all of them, returning to work after cancer treatment was very important, but they faced several obstacles. For example, some of them had to give up their former profession because of treatment side-effects. Moreover, the cancer experience frequently changed their attitude and expectations toward their working career. Finally, in order to find a new job these women were prone to hide their cancer experience and to resort to their social network (this network was also helpful to face the financial consequences of their sick leave).