With a radiant smile, despite a box of medicine placed on her face, Carla Bruni chose to close an important chapter in her life. Diagnosed in 2019 with breast cancer, she continued to transform her ordeal into a collective fight for screening.
“I was very lucky, because I was diagnosed quite early.”she recalled during the last Pink October. She is now celebrating the end of a rigorous protocol. “Today Saturday December 20, 2025, I finish 5 years of hormone therapy” can we read in the caption of his Instagram post.
Hormone therapy: the essential bulwark against recurrence
While surgery and radiotherapy are often the first steps in the fight against breast cancer, hormone therapy is the marathon that follows. This treatment aims to block the action of hormones that stimulate the proliferation of cancer cells.
As oncologist Diana Bello Roufai explained to us in a previous article, this treatment is not systematic but depends on the stage of the tumor.
“Typically, hormone therapy is administered at a rate of one tablet per day to prevent recurrences.”.
It is precisely this protective role that Carla Bruni wanted to emphasize, despite the difficulty of the ordeal. “Despite its rather aggressive side effects, I am grateful to science for inventing hormone therapy: it effectively protects against relapse.”
A heavy but “life-saving” treatment
The former First Lady’s announcement isn’t just personal news; it is a message of solidarity towards the thousands of women who follow this same “usual path”. Hormone therapy is renowned for its duration (often 5 years, sometimes 10) and its side effects which can impact the quality of daily life.
This is why Carla Bruni wanted to speak directly to those who are still struggling.
“I want to tell all women who are in the same situation to hold on – of course hormone therapy is quite a heavy treatment – but its effectiveness can save your life.”
This testimony helps break the taboo on the “invisible fatigue” that accompanies post-cancer, while reaffirming the crucial importance of compliance with treatment to guarantee healing.
The symbolism of the announcement: regaining power over the disease
Why share such news with the whole world? Beyond awareness, this act has a deep psychological dimension. For psychologist Johanna Rozenblum, this gesture is a therapeutic step in itself. “This gesture formalizes the progress we have made. It is a door that opens to new perspectives.”
By posting this photo, Carla Bruni marks the end of the battle for herself, but also for the medical profession whom she wanted to thank for their “competence and humanity”. As Johanna Rozenblum concludes, such an announcement finally allows patients to “regain power over an evil that has come insidiously”. The page of illness turns, for Carla Bruni, giving way to a new freedom.