LIVE. CHOOSE. CREATE.
You are probably at a point in your life when nothing in your life feels the way it used to.
Maybe you've recently been diagnosed with cancer.
Maybe you're in the middle of treatment.
Or perhaps you've finished treatment and now call yourself a cancer survivor—only to realize that life doesn't simply go back to the way it was.
I know those moments.
I've lived them myself.
Twice.
Two cancer diagnoses within four years.
Two moments I'll never forget.
Two moments that changed my life forever.
It all began on May 16, 2021.
That day I was lying in a hospital bed at the medical center in Traunstein, Germany, when the attending physician came into my room.
I expected to hear something like:
"Olaf, your fatigue is being caused by an infection or a virus. We'll treat it, and you'll be able to go home in a few days."
But I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, the doctor looked at me and quietly said:
"Olaf, I'm afraid our suspicions have been confirmed. You have leukemia—blood cancer."
One sentence.
One sentence that made my entire world collapse.
One sentence that changed everything.
I cried.
I felt completely overwhelmed.
And I asked the question that almost everyone asks after hearing a cancer diagnosis:
"Why me?"
It's a natural question.
But it's one that rarely has an answer.
After about two hours of crying, doubting, and trying to understand what had just happened, I made a decision.
The decision that would ultimately save my life—and transform it.
I accepted the diagnosis.
And I made a promise to myself.
A promise that was not negotiable.
I was going to beat cancer.
Giving up would never be an option.
What followed was anything but easy.
I endured four rounds of chemotherapy, each bringing its own pain, side effects, fear, and constant battle to hold on to hope.
Then, in early 2022, I received the news I had been praying for:
The leukemia was gone.
But the fear remained.
For the next three years, I lived with the constant worry that cancer might return.
And then, in March 2025, it did.
This time it wasn't leukemia.
It was stomach cancer.
Another eight rounds of chemotherapy.
Two major stomach surgeries.
More pain.
More uncertainty.
More sleepless nights—for me and for my family.
Once again, I found myself asking,
"Can I do this?"
And once again, I made the same decision:
I would keep fighting.
Today, I can thankfully say that I have beaten this cancer as well. Since December 2025, I have been cancer-free.
But the journey isn't over.
For the next year to year and a half, I receive immunotherapy every two weeks to reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
Every six months I undergo CT scans to make sure there are no signs of recurrence.
Sometimes it feels as though the battle never truly ends.
Yet one belief has never changed:
Giving up will never be an option.
Over the years, I have become deeply convinced that our mindset plays an important role in how we face cancer.
Medicine is essential.
Our doctors, nurses, researchers, and therapists do extraordinary work every day.
But I also believe there is something only we can contribute.
Our attitude.
Our willingness to keep going.
Our decision to look for hope—even on the hardest days.
For me, one of the greatest sources of strength came from an unexpected place:
HYGGE.
The Danish philosophy of Hygge helped me slow down.
It taught me to notice moments of peace even in the middle of chaos.
To appreciate small moments of joy.
To focus on gratitude instead of fear whenever possible.
Most importantly, Hygge strengthened something that became essential throughout my cancer journey:
RESILIENCE.
The ability to keep getting back up.
To adapt.
To keep moving forward, even when life feels overwhelming.
That is exactly why I am here and why I wrote my books for YOU!
My hope is that they will help you discover your own sources of comfort, courage, and inner strength.
It isn't about ignoring fear.
It's about learning that even in the middle of uncertainty, you can still create moments of warmth.
Moments of peace.
Moments of gratitude.
Moments of hope.
One small Hygge moment at a time.
Welcome to your journey.
