It’s a heart-wrenching story, filled with courage and selflessness. Patricia Blanc, president and founder of Imagine for Margo, emotionally shares her journey: that of a mother faced with the loss of her daughter Margaux to cancer, who chose to transform this tragedy into a life mission. Through her words, Patricia takes us into a story where maternal love turns into a universal fight.
Margaux, a life force turned into mobilization against cancer
Margaux was a lively teenager, whose joy and determination were contagious. At the age of 14, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Despite the brutality of this diagnosis, Margaux showed extraordinary courage. During her treatments, she decided to mobilize those around her to support research into childhood cancer by launching a fundraising campaign.
This simple yet powerful act marked a turning point. “Her message, her campaign… we had no choice but to continue her fight,” Patricia confides. Inspired by the three words Margaux wrote – Go, Fight, Win – Patricia and her family took up the cause. After Margaux’s death, they chose to make this initiative the foundation of a larger movement, so her fight could benefit other children.
Childhood cancer: a cause that calls for mobilization
Every year in France, over 2,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer, and nearly 500 of them do not survive. Despite the scale of this tragedy, pediatric research remains woefully underfunded.
In the face of this injustice, Imagine for Margo set clear goals: to accelerate research, raise public awareness, and provide support to affected families. “These photos of Margaux give me so many different emotions… it’s her whole life, her energy. But at the same time, these photos stop at 14,” Patricia shares emotionally.
The association has become a key player in this fight, raising funds to finance innovative clinical trials and offering hope to children and families going through this ordeal.
To the little girl you were: a book to tell and transmit
In 2023, Patricia Blanc published a moving book, To the Little Girl You Were. This intimate and sincere account reflects on the struggles her family faced and Margaux’s fight. “It took me a long time to write this book because it was quite difficult for me to put into words what I had experienced,” Patricia confides.
She reveals moments of life, love, and pain, while honoring her husband Olivier and her daughter Floriane, Margaux’s sister, who encouraged her to write this book. Through the pages, Patricia also gives a voice to her husband, whose poignant letter sheds new light on their story: “My dear, we said it was for better or for worse, and we got both.”
This book is much more than a testimony: it’s a call to action. It invites everyone to engage in a cause still too little known, to contribute to offering sick children and their families a better life and new perspectives.
A collective fight, a shared mission
Margaux’s message, Go, Fight, Win, resonates today in all the actions led by Imagine for Margo. Patricia Blanc, surrounded by a team and thousands of supporters, has turned immense pain into collective hope. Every initiative of the association carries the memory of Margaux and the energy she embodied.
“We fought with all our strength and threw ourselves wholeheartedly into this battle with Margaux. We continue today for the other families and for the other children,” concludes Patricia, determined.
Through her commitment, her book, and her message, Patricia Blanc reminds us that every action counts, and every mobilization is a step toward a collective victory against childhood cancer.
