Écoute Cancer Réconfort has been a lifeline for cancer patients in Monaco and the surrounding region for over 30 years, but October brings the association into the spotlight like no other month.
This Saturday, the charity will be honoured at AS Monaco’s match against Toulouse as part of the club’s annual October Rose initiative. On November 1st, a charity gala at the Fairmont Monte Carlo, held under the patronage of Princess Stephanie of Monaco, will also raise funds for the association.
Yet for Valérie Barilaro, who has served as president for over a decade, these moments serve a deeper purpose: drawing attention to the year-round work the association does that quietly transforms lives.
“It’s not all about dressing in pink and wearing a pink ribbon,” she said. “You also have to do prevention and talk about it; you have to get tested.”
The statistics that demand attention
The numbers are shocking: breast cancer affects one in eight women, yet only one woman in two is currently getting screened. Early detection, however, offers a 90% survival rate.
“Breast cancer diagnosed at an early stage gives nine out of ten chances of getting through it,” revealed Barilaro. “That’s a number to remember.”
In October, the association organised ‘Bougeons ensemble pour Octobre Rose’, bringing together around 50 people for FitDance, pilates, and yoga nidra. “Sport is hugely important in cancer prevention but also in reducing the risks of recurrence,” she explained.
Throughout the month, the association conducts prevention sessions in companies and public spaces, educating women about mammograms and the importance of self-examination from age 20.
A sanctuary in Cap d’Ail
The heart of the association’s mission is the Espace Mieux-être in Cap d’Ail. The centre, which opened back in 2009, operates all year-round, three times weekly, offering free supporting care to cancer patients and their families.
“When you’re ill, you tend to isolate yourself. You tend to protect all the people around you,” Barilaro explained. “Here, we offer them a place where they can express themselves and receive care including psychology, social aesthetics, naturopathy, and adapted physical activity.”
The support continues long after treatments ends. “There’s this whole phase of reconstruction which is very, very long.”
One of the most important initiatives is the ‘Instant Mode’ styling workshop. “With breast cancer, three-quarters of women lose their hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows,” Barilaro said. “It has a huge impact on body image.”
The workshops teach colour and styling techniques. “To dare to go out, to show yourself, to accept that you’re ill but that you’re beautiful; it’s enormous in terms of phycological impact.”
The transformation she witnesses is profound. “When we receive a new patient, we see her looking sad, withdrawn, demoralised. In just three or four months, it’s like watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. We do sport together, we do treatments together to feel better. This support is essential in their fight against the disease.”
Away from the spotlight
However, the association faces ongoing challenges. “I need additional volunteers, funding, and visibility,” Barilaro explained. “We have employees to pay, workshops to finance. We’re trying to offer a lot of different activities.”
Her message to the community is urgent: “Get tested, because we’re lucky in Monaco to have organised screening, which is fully covered. This screening can save lives and can prevent people from needing such heavy treatment to survive this disease, which is very difficult.”
For those already facing a diagnosis, the Espace Mieux-être offers welcome, listening, comfort, support, and wellbeing – five pillars that define the association’s mission.
For now, Barilaro prepares for Saturday’s match and the November gala, but her focus still remains on the daily work that happens away from the spotlight…the quiet conversations, the gentle exercises, the moments when a patient dares to look in the mirror again and see not just illness, but beauty and hope staring back.
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Main provided by Valérie Barilaro
