Health in Agen: Olivier Bernard, doctor and entrepreneur, hangs up his lab coat but continues the fight against cancer

The radiation oncologist took the Centre for Radiotherapy and Oncology in Moyenne-Garonne to a new level when he arrived in 2004. Today, the canalside practice treats some 200 cancer patients a day.

"I'm going to relax first." This Wednesday, June 11, Olivier Bernard is hanging up his lab coat, without, he assures us, any plans other than to relax. In truth, we don't believe it...

The radiation oncologist, honorary president and founder of the Lot-et-Garonne Cancer Committee, is retiring at 68. This is a small milestone in the Agen medical landscape, which he helped reshape by making the Centre for Radiotherapy and Oncology of Moyenne-Garonne (CROMG) a regional benchmark. "He is one of those entrepreneurial doctors who are now on the verge of extinction," says Pierre Chollet, a pulmonologist at the Agen Hospital.

A former Naval Health officer, Olivier Bernard, who was one of the youngest department heads at Val de Grâce, decided in 2004, after twenty-five years and a difference of opinion with his general, to launch an offensive in the world of private medicine. On his staff map, he pinpoints Agen and the practice shared by doctors Jean-Louis Suel and Christian Cronier, with whom he partners. The edge of the Canal Lateral to the Garonne, the Calabet quay, the access to the old Bordeaux road, etc. Strategic location? Perhaps. The man has ambition.

In 2009, Adela Gauchois bought out Jean-Louis Suel's shares, then with Olivier Bernard, they acquired those of Christian Cronier in 2011. A pivotal year which saw the completion of the first real estate transaction, followed by others, which made Cromg, with its three underground bunkers (to contain radiation) a cutting-edge tool.

On the eve of retirement, the observation is there: in twenty-one years, the structure which, upon his arrival, had around ten staff and two accelerators intended for radiotherapy, now operates with three latest generation accelerators , a 4D scanner and 47 staff, including 5 doctors.

"It's a great success, you could say," agrees Olivier Bernard. Risk-taking and a substantial investment guided the battle plan. Without public aid. "Jean-Louis Suel told me that managing a practice was like a glass of beer: to keep the shop running, you need 25 cl every day. As for the foam, that's what you have left to invest in the work tool."

With us, there's no three-week deadline; even if the schedule is full, we don't leave anyone out."

The speech is somewhat jarring today, in the era of medical centers, in which local authorities invest millions of euros, and of salaried doctors, who go so far as to negotiate the payment of their secretarial services with the public authorities...

A few months ago, the Amethyst group acquired the Cromg workspace, which sees around forty chemotherapy patients and 160 radiotherapy patients every day. These patients come from Lot-et-Garonne, but also from Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Lot, and Landes. "We provide personalized follow-up," warns Olivier Bernard, who makes no secret of his "passion" for his job. "We don't process files... It's too easy. And then, with us, there's no three-week turnaround; even if the schedule is full, we don't leave anyone out."

Dr. Bernard's focus on patients led him to create the Cancer Committee in 2017, alongside Michèle Bauvy. The committee's president was convinced by the approach of someone who wanted to address emotional states. "His passionate speech on what care should be given to people with cancer and their families, and especially his commitment to patients in our region, deeply touched me," she says.

"Thanks to his work, patients were able to be treated close to home, surrounded by their loved ones, in the best possible conditions. Thanks to him, the Cancer Committee was structured and developed , on behalf of all the volunteers," notes Michèle Bauvy, who thanked him warmly, publicly, during a ceremony organized in his honor on Tuesday, June 10.

However, one project remains unfinished: the patients' home. "The idea is to allow people undergoing radiotherapy who come from far away every day to rest and save on road trips. Moreover, the committee's goal, as Dr. Bernard envisioned it, was to provide both emotional and financial support." This home is one of the projects Olivier Bernard is still working on. The relaxation won't be complete.