A British woman who found out she had cancer just two weeks after moving to France has credited the country’s healthcare system with saving her life.
Kirsti Coley, 39, from Wiltshire, and husband Phil bought a home in Haute-Vienne in 2017.
Two weeks after arriving, Mrs Coley received the results of a biopsy she had in the UK for a mole on her back.
It was skin cancer.
“It was a real blow and shock,” said Mrs Coley.
She had not yet had time to join the French healthcare system, so she returned to the UK for treatment.
Joining the French healthcare system
After successful surgery and several check-ups in the UK during 2017 and 2018, she signed up with a French GP, who quickly helped her get registered with the French system.
“I had more scans than I ever expected, with considerably more regularity than I was getting in the UK. They left no stone unturned,” Mrs Coley said.
One of the scans showed that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. It was no longer external but internal, increasing in severity from stage 2B to 3C.
She had surgery in March 2019 and started a drug trial a month later.
She said differences compared to the UK were apparent, from shorter waiting times for appointments and test results to being given more say in her treatment.
“The thoroughness of the checks they did, even visual ones, was much greater than the UK,” Mrs Coley said.
She saw her dermatologist monthly, compared to every four-and-a-half months in the UK. “It is not the fault of the staff, it is the fault of the UK system,” she said.
She would not have qualified for the immunotherapy drug trial she was put on if she had stayed in the UK – one reason her family are convinced her treatment in France saved her life.
“Because the scans identified a reactive lymph node, which led to the biopsy, which led to further surgery, my husband is not convinced that they would have been picked up in the UK.
“Given the severity of it, I probably would not be here, or my story would be very different,” she said.
“I feel fortunate I was in France. They picked up that the cancer had metastasised and they were just, straight out of the blocks, all over it – surgery, treatment, monitoring.”
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Language hurdles in France
One challenge of the treatment was doing everything in a new language. I had GCSE-level French but that gives you absolutely nothing when it comes to dealing with day-to-day stuff, never mind hospital-based French,” Mrs Coley said.
“I would go armed with a few key sentences I might need and then muddle through. If I was really struggling, I would lapse into English.
“A lot of the staff, whether it was my dermatologist, the anaesthetist, one of the nurses, or my consultant, spoke good English and all wanted to test their English on me.”
Amid treatment and living in a “barely habitable” house where renovations had ground to a halt, Mrs Coley started her own business upcycling furniture.
“I have never led a quiet, sedate lifestyle, so the fact I was trying to renovate a house, start a business, and being treated for cancer does not surprise me,” she said.
It was partly the dream of building a life in France that helped her keep a ‘glass half full’ attitude.
“I just kept going because there were bigger plans. The cancer was not going to stop me or slow me down. I appreciate for some people it is a different story, but they caught mine in time and they were confident in the drugs and I went with their confidence.”
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Building a family in France
The couple had hoped to start a family but were unsure how Mrs Coley’s cancer treatment might affect her fertility.
They had to wait four months after the drug trial to try for a baby.
“I was told there was a less than a 5% chance we would have kids. The four months came and, at the drop of a hat, I was pregnant. We were elated.”
There was also uncertainty how the treatment might affect the pregnancy but Mrs Coley had a straightforward experience, and nine months later gave birth to a healthy baby girl, followed by a son in September 2023.
She is monitored annually and is cancer-free and continuing with the renovations and building her business.
What advice would she give to anyone navigating the French system?
“It is worth digging in and going with it. If the medical staff do not speak English, learn some French phrases, or take a neighbour with you who can speak French. In comparison to the UK, in my experience, the system is far superior.”
For anyone affected by cancer – and their families – in France please note there is English-language support available through cancersupportfrance.org
