After a few years of studying songwriting and music production, Stockholm was a natural choice. Here I started working at Rituals, first as a sales associate and later as an assistant store manager. When the opportunity to become store manager came up, I said yes, and for the past three years I have held that role, with music on the side.
I really enjoy living in Stockholm, thanks in large part to all the wonderful people I have met through my studies and work, who are also my friends today.
In my free time, I sing in the Vasa Gospel choir. A musical oasis that gives me energy every week. Choral singing really does something for the soul; it grabs hold of you and gives you a real boost.
On November 14, everything changed.
I had sought medical attention for worsening asthma and symptoms such as night sweats, shortness of breath, and weight loss. That day I had a chest X-ray. Two hours later the phone rang. I needed to come in immediately that same day.
They had found a large tumor.
Looking back, I have described the doctor's visit as falling into a black hole. That evening I was lying in a hospital bed at Karolinska. Everything happened very quickly. X-ray after X-ray. Fluid around the lung that needed to be drained. A puzzle that slowly began to come together.
After a few days I received my diagnosis: Hodgkin's lymphoma. A cancer treated with chemotherapy by the hematologist.
Because I am young, the medical team has been clear that the prognosis is good, and that has been an enormous source of reassurance to carry with me. As I write this, I am actually halfway through treatment (!!)
During this time, a lot has sunk in. Above all, an enormous sense of gratitude. For my family, my friends, all my acquaintances, and all the wonderful medical staff. Despite my life being turned upside down, I have felt surprisingly calm and secure.
Life is fragile. It can change from one conversation to the next.
That is why I have learned that clichés are sometimes very true. Life is too short for brooding, unnecessary relationships, and negative thoughts.
The biggest challenge for me has been patience.
I fell ill in November, which meant that the treatments coincided with Christmas, public holidays, and a dark December. Everything dragged on, and the first period felt endless. The darkness, the fatigue, and the uncertainty took their toll.
But you know what? You get through it anyway.
I have really had to train my mindset. And what I have learned is that we are stronger than we think. Even in the darkest periods, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For me, that light has been my surroundings, the people around me.
Life does not have to end because you get cancer. You are not your illness. It is there for a while, and you will overcome it.
This is something I have said to myself every day: This is temporary, not permanent
If you who are reading this are going through something difficult right now – hang in there. You can handle more than you think!
