I only learned last night that fellow bilingual blogger Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald, known by most Dutch social nerds through his frequent Dutch tweets as @DutchCowboy and from his contributions to the DutchCowboys blog, had been diagnosed about a month ago to have a tumor between his lungs, the size of two fists.
This morning Maarten was hospitalized to receive another six-day chemo therapy treatment. Here's what Maarten writes about his illness:
"It is a Mediastinal Germ Cell Tumor, a type of Seminoma (also know as testicular cancer, its just not down there, its between the lungs). This type of cancer is well treatable."
I met with Maarten on several occasions, mostly at the high-quality, always sold-out Mobile Monday events he's been co-organizing and presenting in Amsterdam over the past year. I've come to know him as a friendly super-connector and a very inspiring, energetic personality.
After I had read all about Maarten's situation last night, I wondered if I should send a snail mail postcard to the hospital (I will of course), perhaps write a Twitter message or two (no question) or if I should even sign up on his Google visiting schedule to kindly request to visit him. I decided to write this blog post, hoping to bring a smile on his face when he'd read this, and perhaps to that of others.
You see, instead of refraining from publicity like other patients of such a radical disease might prefer doing, Maarten is keeping a meticulous and strikingly optimistic public journal of every single step of the experience, both on Twitter as @DutchCowboy (mostly in Dutch), and on a dedicated English blog called Maartens Journey. For Maarten, there's no taboo here. He writes about his dire need to stay connected and informed, but also about the intense side effects of the medical treatment and the emotional roller coaster ride he and his loving wife Lori are going through. Sometimes she reports on his behalf, for example about their lessons learned. Maarten finds inspiration in what people like Randy Pausch and Doc Searls have to say about their attitude to their illnesses.
At the Amsterdam hospital where he's staying, Maarten's got a fully equipped web-connected office set up on his bed side. When he's not too tired, Lori and close friends are keeping him company, bringing him gear, gadgets and good spirits.
Here's the second video interview that Maarten's close friend Vincent Everts just recorded with him:
How do you survive cancer 2.0 according to Maarten Lens-FitzGerald’s
I just
spoke with Maarten through a quick Twitter exchange while he's
undergoing
the severely invasive cancer treatment. He told me he's looking forward to see this post published. I'm just in awe and appreciation of such strength and optimism.
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