Jamie is a friend of Suzanne.
She's 15 years old and lives in Almere. She was about 11 years old when she heard that her grandfather suffered from lung cancer. He presumable got this because of smoking.

“Doctors found out that he suffered from cancer two months before he died. Apparently it was for one and a half year in his body. When I heard about it, I had to cry. He was the first family member who died from cancer. He hasn't had operations, chemotherapy or x-ray treatments. He didn't want that any more, it had no use. I saw that he changed, his walking became worse and he became thinner and his skin looked greyish. When I visited my grandfather I felt weird. I found it difficult to be happy. "

"I didn't keep it as a special secret that my grandfather had cancer, but I didn't want to tell it to others. I only told it to some of my best girlfriends. They supported me a lot, I could stay for a night or play with them if my mother went to my grandfather. "

"My grandfather died at home. I heard it when I got home. It happened on Valentines day. I haven't seen him any more after he died. Besides that I haven't been on the reception neither because I wanted to remind my grandfather as he was before he got ill. I went to the funeral, I didn't see him there because he laid in a closed coffin. I think the funeral was very special. It was my first funeral. My grandfather has been cremated, and disseminated at a place which no one knows. Even my grandmother doesn't know it. She made that decision herself. "

"I think it's ridiculous that people swear with cancer, while they have no idea of what kind damage they can cause to other people. It might be possible that they have just no idea how terrible cancer is. "

"I can describe cancer with just one word: UNPREDICTABLE . Because just after two months that we knew my grandfather had cancer, he already died. And my uncle had given up the hope, and suddenly the cancer was gone from his body. "

Close Window