Princess Mabel
Her sister Nicoline talks about cancer diagnosis
Princess Mabel
© Dana Press
Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau has already gone through some difficult times in her life. Now her younger sister Nicoline Wisse Smit is making her cancer public on her website.
Even as a child, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, 54, suffered a heavy loss: In February 1978, her father died after breaking into the ice skating on the Loosdrechtse Plassen in the Netherlands, when Mabel was nine years old. Almost exactly 34 years later, the next stroke of fate hit her. On February 17, 2012, her husband Prince Friso, † 44, King Willem-Alexander’s brother, was buried by an avalanche while skiing. He died in August of the following year after a long coma.
Now Mabel is worried about her sister Nicoline Wisse Smit, because the 52-year-old writes worrying lines on her website.
Princess Mabel: Sister Nicoline reports an “overdose of terror”
Nicoline Wisse Smit regularly reviews books on her blog. A few days ago she shared her thoughts on the work “Gevoel voor tumor” (Eng.: feeling for tumor). At first she only reported her disappointment that the book lacked humor, even though the title suggested it. But then she remarked that her “gathering of information at the time of reading was probably rather subjective,” adding, “The diagnosis of ‘metastatic cancer’ caused quite a stir and still does (quite often).”
Princess Mabel and Nicoline Wisse Smit
© Dana Press
She talks about radiation
Above all, the book reminded her of an “overdose of horrors surrounding radiation therapy”. However, this does not coincide with her own experience: “An image that does not match the reality I experienced. I just discovered it too late. And so I, who describes herself as a medically courageous person, lay in fear the radiation table at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital.”
She also wrote that she often picked up the book at night when she woke up with back pain. After all, the table of contents touched on “topics that concern me, such as chemotherapy, the hospital as a microcosm and dealing with visitors.” However, reading it did not help her. She does not reveal exactly when Nicoline received the diagnosis or whether she is still being treated.
Source used: nicolinewissesmit.nl