Running. “Running saved me from my breast cancer” – Running

Quemener… It sounds Breton. “I have Breton origins. My paternal grandfather lived part of his life near Guingamp, ”says Anaïs Quemener, without remembering the name of the town. Information taken from his father, it is Pédernec.

Triple French marathon champion

Born in the Paris region, where she lives and where she works as a nurse’s aide in the emergency department of Bondy hospital (Seine-Saint-Denis), the young woman no longer really has any connection with the Brittany, even if it likes to come and run, almost every summer, the short trails (34 and 56 km) of the Ultra-Marine in the Gulf of Morbihan.

But the story of Anaïs Quemener goes well beyond her Breton roots and her performances in running which enabled her to win her third title of French marathon champion last Sunday in Deauville (Normandy). in 2h 40’37”. Her story is a real lesson in life and a source of hope for all those affected by the disease.

Go back. In 2014, the young athlete is 23 years old. She is in great shape and she is far from imagining that the lump detected in her left breast is cancer. Her gynecologist reassures her by telling her that it is not serious, that it is hormonal and that it will pass. “She told me that I was an athlete with a healthy lifestyle. She wasn’t worried at all. »

“It was advanced cancer”

Seeing that this ball was growing, Anaïs Quemener consulted other doctors, no more worried than her gynecologist. “My blood tests were good. Everyone thought it was a cyst, but I insisted with a doctor, with whom I worked at the hospital, to do further examinations. »

After a year of medical wandering, the diagnosis is in: tumor under the armpit and in the left breast, stage three out of four cancer with metastases. “It was an advanced cancer”, sums up the marathon runner.

“I fell from a height because I felt very good. I wasn’t tired, I was doing a lot of competitions and breaking my records. I did not expect that. »

Eight days after the diagnosis, Anaïs Quemener attacked heavy treatments: chemotherapy, radiation and removal of both breasts.

“Staying on my couch was like dying”

During this long obstacle course, which lasted two years, the athlete never put his sport on hold. She even made her passion her therapy. “I continued to run every day, except when I had surgery. »

His doctors were not necessarily very warm. They agreed that she should jog a little, but not that she compete. So, when a first doctor refused her a medical certificate, she turned to a second whom she had difficulty convincing.

” I needed it. It made me feel like I was still alive. When I was running and I was with people from my club, I forgot about the disease and I was like everyone else. As I could no longer work, my only activity of the day was my hour of jogging. So I never missed it. To stay on my sofa was to die. »

“Keep exercising”

In complete remission for two years, the Parisian has communicated a lot on social networks and in particular on her Facebook page “Anaïs Quemener, sport as therapy”.

“Every day, I receive messages from athletes who have just learned that they have cancer and who do not want to stop their sport. Sometimes we exchange phone numbers to talk about it. It does them good.”

Throughout her discussions, she hammers home a message full of optimism. “Keep exercising as much as possible. Me, running saved me from my cancer. »

Today, the marathon runner devours the kilometers and has multiple desires for races, including the French cross-country championships, in March 2023 in Carhaix. 50 kilometers from Pédernec and its Breton roots.

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