Wendy (47) wants to live on for her 15-year-old daughter, but does not have the money: « My family is not a bottomless pit » (Ghent)
« Last year in May my life was shaken together, » begins 47-year-old Wendy van Bockhaven. Together with her 15-year-old daughter Uta she lives in Ledeberg. Not long ago she prepared exam and lesson grilles for the Odisee Hogeschool. Now she sleeps until the afternoon, because it can’t be otherwise.
In May 2024, Wendy went to the doctor with severe shoulder pain and pneumonia. She was fiercely reduced and sweated a lot at night. A scan showed that she had a tumor in her left lung. It was so big that half of her lung was folded.
Fierce
The tumor was removed in August, together with the top left lobe from Wendy’s Long. A fierce operation, but the worst seemed over. Cancer smothered in the bud, the single mom thought. She was able to continue her life with daughter Uta, who will be sixteen this summer.
After the operation in August 2024. – © If
But at her next check in February, the doctors found, against all expectations, a massive tumor in her pancreas. And metastases in her liver and lungs. The doctors carried out one examination after the other, but a solution remained.
« If it’s not the right chemo, she has no effect. I don’t want to be there like a zombie »
Wendy van Bockhaven
Cancer patient
« They were not sure that it was pancreatic cancer. As a result, they could not start appropriate treatment. They could give chemotherapy for that cancer, but of course it comes with all kinds of side effects and if it is not the right chemo, she has no effect. I don’t want to run like a zombie. »
Holistic
Wendy went to investigate the internet himself. Via a forum she clashed at the arcadia clinic in Germany, a hospital that combines conventional and holistic treatments to combat cancer. It offers a different type of chemo, but also additional therapies that strengthen the immune system.
© If
« If the pancreatic cancer is, according to the doctors, I still have a year and a half to live – with chemo. While that clinic has already healed people in Germany, people who were very deep. A Swedish lady had received a very bad prognosis, but she is cancer -free thanks to Arcadia. »
Piggyback
But the treatment in Germany is expensive and is not reimbursed. With her own piggy bank and support from the family, Wendy was able to follow a three -week treatment. She prefers to go back to Arcadia within a few months to continue that treatment, but she doesn’t have the money for that and her family is not a bottomless pit.
That is why Wendy has started an online collection campaign. She hopes to collect 56,000 euros. This allows them to continue the treatment in Germany, and buy medication and supplements. Any remaining agents will be served on charity initiatives. « Every contribution helps, no matter how small, » says De Gentse. « I have a daughter, I don’t just want to leave her behind. I want to do everything to live. »
You can make a contribution via www.steunactie.be
