Almost two months later after the start of deconfinement, summer has settled in France and with it a certain relaxation of behavior, while the virus is still circulating, including in mainland France. The big forgotten in this sequence: vulnerable people. Agathe is suffering from cancer, she agrees to testify on this new daily life sometimes suffered.
Staying on the alert despite the deconfinement is the daily life of Agathe (the first name has been changed) as of all the so-called “vulnerable” people. At 63, she lives with triple-negative breast cancer, which is difficult to treat and has become metastatic over time. However, since May 11, she has been trying to resume the normal course of her life by respecting certain rules: avoiding public transport, supermarkets during rush hour or cinemas. “For my oncologist, the mask on the outside is not superfluous, because the virus is still circulatingshe recalls. Yet a few days ago, I noticed that people weren’t wearing it anymore and weren’t respecting the distances at the supermarket, I even got pushed around! I have since decided to avoid going back because I don’t want to be with people who don’t take precautions.”
“I installed a decontamination airlock”
This lack of civility also pushes her to avoid pharmacies, when another client explains to her that she was not afraid of catching the disease since she was wearing a mask. “It is the one who wears a mask who protects the other, and not the other way around”, she breathes. From then on, she thought about the pharmacist’s proposal to deliver her at home.
Despite her doctor’s permission to go out longer since May 11 and lunches shared with friends, Agathe has still arranged her daily life for Covid-19. “I no longer go to the laboratory and it is a nurse who comes to the house”, she explains. Because of her treatments, Agathe knows that her immune defenses are low and that she is at high risk of contracting Covid-19, but also of spreading the virus to her loved ones. “At home I installed a ‘decontamination airlock’she assures. As soon as I get home, I systematically put all my clothes in the washing machine then I take a shower to avoid infecting my interior.”
Rules that she sets herself at least for the next few months. “I am not acting out of fear of the disease or phobia, but as it seems to be very contagious, precautions must be taken. If I had it it would be complicated to treat me and it could cause lung infectionsshe says. Still, I’m more afraid of cancer than this coronavirus, so these rules are not burdensome for me because in my eyes it is a discipline of life.
“During confinement, the rest of the world lived like us”
A discipline which she once thought would be shared by all. “During the time of confinement, I and other sick acquaintances had the impression of feeling less alone: the rest of the world lived like us with draconian rules to respect. However, it only lasted a few weeks for them, while we are still living with these restrictions”, confesses Agathe. Despite this discipline of life and these constraints – like knowing how to wait for hours in a waiting room – this general confinement was also a difficult ordeal for her. “It was a double pain: I had my cancer to treat and I couldn’t go out. I no longer saw my caregivers [l’oncologue d’Agathe lui a prescrit un traitement par voie oral le temps du confinement pour lui éviter de se déplacer à l’hôpital, NDLR], I was afraid of not being able to do certain exams, I gave up on certain ones that were not related to my cancer for fear of contracting the disease, and my doctor only authorized me to go out for 30 minutes per day. This isolation has been difficult to live withshe says. Even if it is not noticeable by the healthy, cancer puts you on the side of the road socially and professionally, and the confinement has really accentuated this feeling.
Today, the deconfinement has allowed the resumption of on-site care at the hospital, although it is still possible to maintain teleconsultations, and patients can again be accompanied. However, “support care” such as yoga or meditation remains on standby until September and is carried out remotely. Agathe scrupulously respects the indications – mandatory mask, hand rubbing with mandatory hydroalcoholic gel, respect for distancing measures, etc.. — and his greatest challenge is to find a peaceful life so as not to spread either the virus or the fears that it still inspires in him.
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