December 02, 2019
I feel as though I’ve lived two lives: life before cancer, and life after. 
When Cancer Threatened My Life, Social Media Gave Me The Strength To Fight
Prior to my diagnosis I was spending my fourth year living in London, where I had spent two years working as an investment banker before pivoting career to become an actor. The first year in film was hard; the competition fierce, the level of stress sometimes unbearable. Despite the negative climate I persevered, pursuing my dream of securing a role in an American production. And I did – two years into my career shift I was cast in to two American feature film projects, which enabled me to secure a US visa. The life I’d dreamed of living was about to begin!
Even though I had everything going for me, it was around this time I noticed feeling more and more tired. And not just your everyday ‘I need a vacation’ tired – I was exhausted. Exhausted to a level that I one day, after arriving back home in Stockholm for a short break, I felt too exhausted to breathe. My parents rushed me to the emergency room. 
Two days later, doctors told me that I had leukaemia.
When I was diagnosed it wasn’t so much the fear of death which preoccupied my mind but the not knowing, and the having to put everything I had worked hard for on hold. Cancer was never – is never – part of anyone’s plan and yet here I was, being told I needed 900 days of chemotherapy.The amount of love and support I received, from those close to me and those I’d never even met before, was the most beautiful thing I have ever experiencedThousands of questions circulated in my head: what does life with cancer look like? What will happen with my career? What does a cancer patient do on an ordinary Tuesday when others go to work? What should I eat? Should I exercise? Do all my questions even have answers? 
I realised immediately that a lot of the medical professionals around me had an inability to see my needs as a human beyond my needs as a patient. I received vague answers such as “eat whatever makes you happy”, which frankly felt belittling. Once I realised that they wouldn’t be able to give me the information I craved, like most of my generation I turned to social media.
Sat in my hospital bed, I wrote a Facebook post intended for friends and family – I was sharing frank, honest information about my new situation. To my surprise, 24 hours later my post had been shared 13,000 times. The amount of love and support I received, from those close to me and those I’d never even met before, was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. 
It was the closest thing to a spiritual experience I’ve ever felt and then and there I realised two things; first, that everyone is connected to cancer and second, even though you hear a lot of talk about progress being made in cancer research, you rarely ever hear a cancer patient talk about what it’s really like to go through it.
I have considered myself a survivor since day one of having cancer, because that day marked the start of my new life. I made it my new mission to share my experience with the world through writing about it online. I named the blog ‘Fabian Bolin’s War on Cancer’. The blog became my saviour throughout the treatment; it gave me a purpose, a reason to get up each morning, a place for me to vent all the frustration and darkness I was feeling and, perhaps most importantly, a place where I could feel less alone. 
Writing healed me. And not only because it helped me, but also because I knew that telling my story was helping others – my inbox was filled with thousands of messages from people sharing intimate details of their personal journeys, because I had shared mine with them. Brave and inspiring stories about love, sacrifice and moral values. Whenever I felt down or sad, which I did (and still do) more often than I admit, I would turn to these stories, looking to them to give me the strength to carry on. 
Feeling this immense connection with others, with people who, if I had not been diagnosed with cancer would have been strangers, ignited something in me; I wanted to turn what I experienced into something larger, something accessible for every cancer patient from every corner of the earth. Cancer forced me to re-examine my life and, in doing so, I was able to figure out who I truly amWhen my childhood friend Sebastian visited me, and saw the huge positive impact that my blog had had on my mental health, we decided to give others the same opportunity. Why don’t we build a platform to enable the sharing of stories on a large scale, where everyone who has been affected by cancer gets the opportunity to share stories, we thought. My blog alone had brought so much healing, I could only imagine what a platform would do. That day, War On Cancer was born.
Fast-forward three years to today and I am in remission, feeling stronger than ever. December 2022 will mark five years having passed since I underwent my final chemotherapy treatment and, unless I relapse within this time, I will then be deemed officially cured. I can genuinely say that this journey has been beyond anything I could ever imagine. War On Cancer is a social media app for patients, survivors and loved ones, where members are welcome to share their journeys, all the while knowing that their stories are helping others. They can find inspiration by following someone similar to them and can establish real and authentic connections with people who can relate to what they are going through. 
Most importantly, though, it is a platform where we’ll always fight cancer together. I am well aware that cancer sucks, and that whoever is diagnosed is in for a ride. It isn’t easy, but my story shows that you really can make the best of a bad situation. Cancer forced me to re-examine my life and, in doing so, I was able to figure out who I truly am. It helped me work out how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I am so proud to have been able to create something positive out of my diagnosis, and even prouder that through it, I am able to help others that are battling cancer.   
Fabian Bolin, CEO and co-founder of War On Cancer
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.comMore from HuffPost UK Personal I Filmed My Last Conversations With My Mum Before She Died From Cancer My Illness Forced Me To Give Up Drinking. Here’s Why I’m Grateful. My Friend Wasn’t There For Me During Breast Cancer. Here’s Why I’m Not Bitter
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.