CECYLIA - Application pour la prévention de cancer

Try CECYLIA Now ! 1 - Cancer: a real scourge for everyone 1.1 - The prevalence of cancer Cancer is an omnipresent threat. In France, almost 4% of the population is diagnosed with cancer every year. While this figure may seem insignificant, it means that over a lifetime, we have around a 50% chance of developing the disease. What's more, France is not even the worst-off country, because the USA, Canada and Australia have even higher rates. 1.2 - Treatments Cancer treatments, although effective in destroying cancer cells, often come with severe side-effects. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, for example, not only target cancer cells, but also damage healthy cells in the body. This can lead to side effects such as extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and more serious problems such as organ damage. These treatments also weaken the immune system, making patients more vulnerable to infection. In addition, surgery can lead to scarring and functional changes in the affected parts of the body. It is therefore vital to accompany these treatments with supportive measures, such as proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits, to help the body recover and resist the deleterious effects of the treatments. 1.3 - Cancer recurrence More than 20% of patients have a recurrence within five years of completing their treatment. On several occasions, they have to undergo check-ups to find out whether or not the cancer has returned, and these deadlines are experienced as veritable swords of Damocles. I'm familiar with this ordeal because I've had to deal with it myself on a regular basis, and in the next section I'm going to talk briefly about it.   2 - Patients' Questions : Why me? One of the first questions we ask ourselves after a cancer diagnosis is ‘Why me? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Did I not take care of myself enough?’ 2.1 - My Story In 2021, as I was finishing my MIAGE Master's degree, I began to suffer from serious health problems: difficulty falling asleep, a blocked nose, and intense facial neuralgia. After several months of suffering and fruitless attempts to diagnose the cause, a consultation with an ENT specialist revealed the presence of a tumour, initially thought to be benign. Unfortunately, after an operation to remove it, it was confirmed to be a very rare cancer. The following months were a long series of trying treatments and endless bad news. During this difficult period, I often asked myself why this was happening to me and whether there was anything I could have done to prevent it. 2.2 - Discovering risk factors In seeking answers to this question, like many patients, I discovered the main risk factors for cancer and found that none of them applied to me: ● Never been a smoker. ● I have never drunk even a drop of alcohol in my life that I know of. ● I have never been overweight. ● I have always done approximately one hour of sport a day at intense levels. ● I've always eaten a balanced diet, or so I thought. So I thought I'd go further to try and understand. 2.3 - Genetic causes That's how I became interested in the genetic causes of cancer, because genetic mutations play a crucial role, some of them inherited from our parents, others acquired during our lives as a result of environmental factors or risky behaviour. This explains why people with no risk factors are confronted with the disease, but the question now is ‘If it's in our genes, can we do anything about it? 3 - Is there anything we can do? During my ordeal, I felt powerless in my lack of control over my situation and my health. It was this feeling that made me ask myself a fundamental question that many patients also ask themselves ‘Is there anything I myself can do to combat this disease?’ 3.1 - David Servan-Schreiber's inspiration But the answer to my question I found in a book my mother gave me, ‘Anticancer’ by David Servan-Schreiber. David, a neuro-psychiatrist diagnosed with brain cancer in 1992, was expected to live only a few months according to medical prognoses. Refusing to give up, he undertook in-depth research into ways of preventing and combating cancer by limiting its progression and spread. He discovered that lifestyle changes such as an anti-cancer diet, stress management and physical exercise can considerably improve the chances of survival by acting on the body's protective mechanisms. David has gone further than the basics often presented, and has actually demonstrated through studies the effectiveness of dietary habits on the body's mechanisms involved in the development of cancer. Thanks to these adjustments, he survived 15 years longer than expected, during which time he made a huge contribution to the fight against cancer and was able to see his daughter grow up. His story and his discoveries provided me with answers and inspired me to adopt healthier lifestyle habits, giving me the feeling of taking back control of my health and making a real impact in my fight against cancer. It was this book, as well as the discussions I had with other patients at the Oncopole in Toulouse during my treatments and with the Ligue contre le cancer, that gave me the idea of helping other patients in this fight and using my computer engineering skills to facilitate the process I had been through.   3.2 - How does cancer work? Cancer cells in our body go through three major phases: 1. Appearance of DNA malformations: Cancer cells emerge when malformations occur in the DNA, resulting in abnormal cells that lose their ability to die naturally. 2. Anarchic multiplication: Once they have emerged, cancer cells multiply anarchically, hijacking the body's natural mechanisms to promote their own proliferation. 3. Formation of tumours and metastases: Eventually, these cancer cells form tumours, which are clusters of cancer cells, or metastases, where the cells spread from one part of the body to another. We all have cancer cells, but the human body has various protective mechanisms to control them. These mechanisms can be compared to funnels that filter out cancer cells, and it is only when these filters fail that tumours appear. These mechanisms can be grouped into three main roles: ● DNA protection: Genetic abnormalities can be triggered by a variety of factors, including poor diet. A diet rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals protects DNA from cancerous mutations. For example, foods such as red fruit, green vegetables and nuts contain powerful antioxidants that help repair cell damage. ● Slowing down the multiplication of cancer cells: Specific nutrients and dietary behaviours can either slow down or speed up this multiplication. Certain foods have antiproliferative properties that slow down the multiplication of cancer cells. Cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower), turmeric, and oily fish rich in omega-3 are known for their inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth. ● Prevent tumour formation and spread: Adequate nutrition can strengthen the immune system, preventing the creation of tumours and the spread of cancer cells. Dietary fibre, phytoestrogens found in soya, and polyphenols in green tea contribute to this protection.  3.3 - Nutrition is at the heart of our lifestyle habits Although in my case, traditional risk factors were not the direct cause of my cancer, they can be for others, and what I've come to realise is that nutrition is central to managing risk factors and plays a crucial role in cancer prevention. Here's how: ● Addictions: Alcohol is a major cause of cancer. According to a study published in The Lancet Oncology, alcohol consumption is responsible for around 5.5% of new cases of cancer each year worldwide. Meanwhile, sugar, although often overlooked, is also addictive and contributes to overweight, a significant risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer. ● Lack of sleep: Poor nutrition and irregular dinner times can disrupt sleep. A study in Nutrients shows that meals high in fats and sugars eaten late at night are linked to sleep disturbance and insomnia. Quality sleep is crucial as it helps to regulate stress hormones and maintain a healthy metabolism. ● Stress: Chronic stress has a direct impact on our cells, increasing oxidative damage and inflammation, two factors that can lead to the development of cancer. In addition, stress often leads to a relapse into addictions such as sugar, cigarettes or alcohol, reinforcing the risk of cancer. ● Physical activity: Regular physical activity is essential for good health, but it must be accompanied by good nutrition. A balanced diet provides the nutrients needed to support energy, recovery and performance. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that people who combine physical activity and a healthy diet have a reduced risk of cancer compared with those who follow only one of these practices. ● Weight control: Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for cancer prevention. Undernutrition and being overweight are both risk factors. Being overweight, in particular, is associated with an increased risk of developing 13 different types of cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). On the other hand, undernutrition weakens the immune system, making the body more vulnerable to disease, including cancer.   So nutrition is not only a key element in managing the mechanisms of cancer, it also has a profound impact on our behaviour and general lifestyle, influencing factors such as addictions, sleep, stress, physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight. 4 - The solution: CECYLIA I mentioned earlier that David Servan-Shreiber's approach inspired me to contribute to the fight against cancer, and it was from this desire that the idea of CECYLIA was born, a nutrition application for cancer prevention and to help in the fight against recurrence, while improving the overall health of everyone. 4.1 - Presentation of the Application CECYLIA is an application that acts as a personal coach, encouraging the adoption of preventive daily behaviours and helping users to give up addictions and bad habits that increase the risk of cancer. Nutrition is at the heart of our application, which enables users to create an ideal food plan to make up for any nutritional deficiencies and boost the mechanisms that protect against cancer. We also want to act as a filter, providing users with concrete, research-proven information, so that they don't fall into the traps of snake oil salesmen who recommend miracle cures or diets. Finally, we want to advance research by analysing the impact of different foods and gestures on cancer recurrence rates, which will eventually enable us to have a personalised algorithm for each cancer and encourage their remission. 4.2 - CECYLIA: Free version 4.3 - CECYLIA: Donor version Conclusion Join us on this adventure to better protect your health against cancer with CECYLIA. Your support is essential to making this vision a reality. By making a donation to our crowdfunding campaign, you are making a direct contribution to this crucial mission. Every contribution, large or small, brings us closer to a future where everyone has the tools and knowledge to help protect themselves against cancer. Share our campaign with your friends and family and on social networks to maximise our impact. Together, let's take a step towards a healthier future. Together, we can make a difference with CECYLIA. Références : 1. The Lancet Oncology. Impact de la consommation d'alcool sur le cancer. 2. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Le sucre et le surpoids comme facteurs de risque de cancer. 3. Nutrients. Les effets des repas riches en graisses et sucres sur le sommeil. 4. Cancer Research. Le stress chronique et les dommages cellulaires 5. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Activité physique, nutrition et risques de cancer. 6. Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer (CIRC). Surpoids et risque de cancer.

Une équipe grandement impliquée !