Seeking Cure

Surrounded by trees and just by the sea, the quiet town of Mårslet shows it´s best side with on this quiet
morning. The sun is shining and the last of the autumn leaves gently floating to the ground. Britta Wollmer
is getting ready for her daily walk in the woods with her small dog Stella.
For Britta life has had it´s surprises and difficulities, but she comes across as a whole and happy person.
While taking her walks she often stops to admire small things around her, she enjoys taking macro photos
as that is something that most people dont stop to look at. That is something that usually you just walk by
without looking closer or ever knowing it was there.
Britta is 49 years old and she has lived in Mårslet since 2007 and says its a dream place to live in. It is close
to nature and the atmosphere is calm. Britta is living here with her boyfriend of 4 years, Lars and her 10 year
old daughter Rikke. Lars also has a 6 year old daughter living in Odense that stays with them at least every
other weekend.
It was in 2010 that she found a big lump in her left breast which she thought was a breast infection like she
experienced when she breastfed. She had already talked to her doctor about it and he said that it was too big
to be cancer. One day during easter holidays she decided to pop by the hospital for a quick check-up, thinking
she would be home in time for dinner. But that day everything changed.
„When the doctors told me they had discovered a tumor that was 6,9 cm in diameter and that it was cancer, I
just could not understand. I kept telling myself that this could not be happening, I had told my daughter, Rikke,
that I would never get breast cancer since no-one in our family had gotten cancer. Two of her classmate´s mothers
have cancer and one in the opposite class. So they see us walking around with no hair on our heads, wearing
compressions sleeves. The children, who are only 10 years old, now think of cancer as the flue, because it is all
around them. When I got home from the hospital I was in complete shock. I called one of the mothers from my
daughter´s class who also had breast cancer. She was not available but I had a little chat with her husband. He
gave me good advice that I have tried to follow throughout this experience. He told me to try not to speculate
too much about the „what ifs“. To keep my mind on the actual facts.“
Britta went through four rounds of chemotherapy after which her whole breast was removed. Another four
chemotherapies followed with the addition of 25 series af radiation. The radiation left her with a big hole in
her body for 6 months. Something that just would not heal, and was extremely painful for her. When her
body was ready she had breast recunstruction.
„Then last summer I felt there was something wrong. I had a cough and sometimes I had difficulties breathing.
I had a cat scan and while we waited for the results we kept our hope. But we knew, in a way you always know.
When the lung specialist came in she told us she was the bearer of bad news. She said they found cancer. A lot
of cancer. In fact, the doctors told me there was nothing they could do to cure it but they could offer me chemotherapy
as a life extending treatment.“