Hans van Breukelen
My name is Hans van Breukelen and I have been a Support Casper ambassador since 2019. In October 2009, I lost my wife Karen to pancreatic cancer. She was my childhood sweetheart, whom I met at secondary school when I was 17. We shared 36 years of life together, through good times and bad, and she was a wonderful mother to our three children.
Karen was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. Breast-conserving surgery followed by 35 radiotherapy sessions successfully treated it. During and after that period, however, she often had abdominal pain, even after exercise. A warm bath would ease it. On a trip to Ecuador, the discomfort became so severe that she had to sit in the back of the car with her legs stretched out. Near the end of the holiday, her mother died in a road accident. Two weeks later, on Karen's fiftieth birthday, I noticed that she had lost weight, which we initially attributed to grief.
As the weight loss continued and the abdominal pain became more frequent, joined by back pain, we saw a specialist. With no clear diagnosis, Karen was referred to Amsterdam UMC. Doctors placed stents near her pancreas, which relieved the pain, but prednisone had no effect. On 16 December that year, we were told that Karen had pancreatic cancer and a life expectancy of six to nine months.
Karen began a combination of chemotherapy and angiogenesis inhibitors, but had to stop after the fourth cycle because she became gravely ill. Fortunately, she recovered enough for us to enjoy holidays and activities together as a family. Her guiding principle was quality of life: she would keep doing what she could for as long as she could, and focus on living rather than suffering. She did so until September 2009, when the cancer spread further. Karen spent the final two weeks of her life at home, where we cared for her and faced the end together. Her love of life and the way she dealt with her illness continue to inspire everyone who knew her.
After Karen's diagnosis, I asked Dr Richel at Amsterdam UMC where in the world we could find the best specialist for a second opinion. He replied: “You do not have to travel far. He is in Rotterdam: Professor Casper van Eijck.” That is how we met Casper, whose expertise, warmth and sincere concern I still value every day. I hope with all my heart that the people behind Support Casper will find an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer, so that the diagnosis is no longer a death sentence.