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Joakim Marstrander is a lawyer and partner at EY. He has the right to appear in the Supreme Court and has always worked hard.
In the last year, he and his wife Iselin Holmedal Marstrander (35) realized things that perhaps had not received as much attention before.
– These are the little things, says Joakim.
A year ago the message arrived. Joakim had a tumor the size of a golf ball, deep inside his brain stem.
Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor. Of the around 250 who receive this diagnosis in Norway annually, only five percent live after five years.
TOGETHER: The couple have created a common strategy to deal with uncertainty. Photo: Kristin Grønning
– It is not easy to rely on statistics, so I have chosen to ignore them when I live my life, says Joakim.
A year ago, the doctor at the Ullevål hospital said that statistics indicate that he will live another 17-18 months. Since then, neither the doctors nor the couple have talked about precisely that.
It has been important for the couple.
– I have no perspective of where I’ll die soon. I check the evolution of the pension funds weekly. I have an ambition and I have the firm conviction that I will live until 70, maybe until 80. We are indomitable optimists, and that is what I say; too late to be pessimistic.
AT HOME: – They represent the joy of living, says Joakim about the chickens in the garden of Bryn’s house in Oslo. Photo: Kristin Grønning
Acts against cancer
They have built some pillars to deal with the difficult situation.
– It’s about finding the light.
– And partly believe it yourself, shoot Iselin.
– Yes, and although we are in a dark situation, it has been very important. Then some of the bright spots appear on their own. So it’s important to catch them, says Joakim.
An important pillar is to preserve the humor. Therefore, Joakim’s tumor is christened “Freddy.”
– Probably after Freddy Krueger. He is the enemy we will fight against, he says.
SMILES: It’s not long before Joakim Marstrander finds reasons to put on a smiling face. Photo: Kristin Grønning
This is exactly what this year’s ‘Force Against Cancer’ is all about. Today, three out of four Norwegians survive cancer. However, there are big differences behind the numbers.
Glioblastoma survival rates have been stagnant for decades. One of the main reasons is that it is difficult to treat, but also because it has not been given as high a priority as other cancers in research.
– We must invest in both research and technology that can give a real boost to this form of cancer. That’s the purpose of raising funds now, says Norwegian Cancer Society Secretary General Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross.
The “Power Against Cancer” fundraising campaign will run from March 6-14.
– My hope is in the investigation.
In the fight against “Freddy”, Joakim already feels that he has an advantage. You have already surpassed the statistics on the road to being cancer free.
– We are fighting with our world leading medical team in Ullevål and Radiumhospitalet behind us. But we want them to have the best possible tools in their toolbox, so you can fight more like “Freddy.”
Recently, Norwegian brain tumor experts have come together to try to achieve a breakthrough in treatment.
– There are some of those stages of development. My clear opinion is that one is now in such a stage of development, and now it is a matter of moving on to the next stage. Then you can save many lives, like mine, says Joakim.
THE LIVING ROOM WALL: The best memory of the couple they created after he fell ill. Photo: Kristin Grønning
Married in june
In January of this year he performed his second operation. Now he’s on chemotherapy. He did the same in spring 2020.
– Spring came last year after the first operation, and now spring is coming after the second. It is an incredible driving force. Everything sprouts and grows and everything is optimistic by nature in general. I realize that I can benefit from it and that I become part of it, he says.
In June last year, after Joakim’s first operation, they got married in Vigelandsparken. The plan was actually a wedding in Paris. It did not work.
WEDDINGS: At the duck pond in Vigelandsparken, the Ullevål hospital chaplain married them Photo: Private
– We still wouldn’t let anything stop our plans. We got the hospital chaplain on the team and got married in Vigelandsparken, by the duck pond. People stopped, stood up and clapped and it was a fantastic experience, says Iselin Holmedal Marstrander.
Today, Joakim’s tumor is the size of a crumpled sewing thread.
Although you have made great strides, there is still a way to go to rid yourself of cancer for good. But that’s the goal.
In the meantime, you’ll enjoy life to the best of your ability, he says.
Cheerful chickens
At their Bryn home in Oslo, the couple have acquired six chickens that are free to roam the plot. They represent the joy of life, says Joakim.
– They come with eggs every day. They are very good, and if you want more yellow plum then you have to give them corn, he says and laughs.
CHICKEN: The lawyer says that chickens do not have the same respect as he does for neighboring borders and fences. Photo: Kristin Grønning
It is clear that chickens, which may differ slightly from the other animals in Bryn’s neighborhood, are attractive.
– She’s been up on the roof over there, and there! Joakim tells about the largest of the chickens, while pointing out the neighboring houses.
That chickens cannot fly is certainly a myth.
– There was also once an article in the local newspaper; Traffic chaos in Fyrstikkbakken, it said. So my chickens got in the way here, so I had to pick them up.
Apart from that, the chickens do not demand much, you have to believe the animated lawyer.
– I will not boast of having any kind of farm here. They are completely self-propelled. Everything goes by itself, he says and laughs.
FREEDOM: Hetti, Netti and Letti, inspired by Donald Duck. Photo: Kristin Grønning
