Jennie Gustavsson is terminally ill: ‘A palliative person can be very vital’

"In that crisis, I felt a strong need for stories from people who have faced extreme challenges. What I was facing was so unimaginably huge. Swimmer Elin Kjos, who lived life to the fullest and showed courage, strength, and love for life despite her terminal cancer diagnosis, had a story that gave me strength.

As a terminally ill person, I have climbed mountains in Norway and gotten married. I would like more people to understand that a palliative person can be very alive.

A little over a week before the wedding, we were told that the treatments were no longer working. ”The toolbox is empty”, as my oncologist said. With that news in mind, we had a loving wedding and a joyful celebration.

I have changed over the course of this cancer journey. There are moments when I am so devastated that I break down. But everything that is good in my life remains, all the love, my husband, and my family. I have learnt to see all that is good more clearly. And when I see it, I feel a deep gratitude. This feeling can come spontaneously. It creates happiness and even more joy. All emotions are more intense, and I feel more alive than ever.

At the same time, I struggle with a lot of fear and anxiety. I need more support than I can get from my counsellor. Not even when we received the difficult news just before the wedding was there anyone to catch us, right there and then. It was needed.

Two cancer friends and I are starting a non-profit organisation. It is aimed at those of us who are too old for Young Cancer, but still young. Many in that group say that the group provides more support than the healthcare system can manage to give.

If my story can empower someone, healthy or sick, anyone - then it is meaningful to me. That is why I want to tell it."

Jennie Gustavsson passed away in February 2025.