On World Lung Cancer Day, August 1, 2026, a 40-year-old former general practitioner from Panningen, Marianneke Bout-Boertien, shared her story of living with incurable terminal lung cancer.
Her ordeal began on January 28 when she coughed up blood. A week later, tests confirmed metastatic lung cancer.
Bout-Boertien, a mother of three young children, quickly transitioned from being a healthcare provider to a terminal patient.
The diagnosis left no hope for recovery, forcing her family to face her eventual death while adapting to her ongoing treatments.
“The ball starts rolling from then on and a week later it was clear that I had lung cancer, and that it had unfortunately also metastasized.
It was also immediately clear that there was no prospect of recovery. That has a huge impact,” she said.
“I have a family with three children and a husband. They are then told that their wife and mother is going to die.
That is quite severe. The whole life then stands still,” she added.
Her parents live next door and help support the family during her prolonged hospitalizations.
Although her health has recently stabilized, she continues to have open conversations with her children about her terminal status.
“Especially the conversation with the children was very severe. That you tell them that you have cancer and that you will not get better.
That was simply terrible,” Bout-Boertien said.
“Now we are six months further and the situation is quite stable. I am getting more and more energy,” she added.
Raising Awareness on World Lung Cancer Day
World Lung Cancer Day emphasizes the importance of tissue testing to accurately classify specific disease variants.
The patient organization Lung Cancer Netherlands advocates for affected individuals, caregivers, and surviving family members.
Bout-Boertien’s diagnosis challenges common assumptions about lung cancer risk factors, as she was young, physically active, and a non-smoker.
“Everyone is extremely sweet. But there is also a lot of misunderstanding.
Like: ‘Gosh, you're forty. You are young.
You are healthy. You exercise a lot.
You don't smoke. How do you get lung cancer?’
Those are the questions I get,” she said.
“But everyone is sweet. People try to help where they can.
And that is extremely beautiful and fine,” she added.
Her professional experience as a primary care doctor did not shield her from serious illness, placing her directly in the patient’s position.
“Yes, general practitioners are just like real people, right. We can get sick too.
Honestly, I would have preferred to sit on the other side of the desk. But now I really am sitting in the patient's chair,” she said.
Uncertainty about her lifespan has led her to focus on daily activities rather than long-term plans.
“It is currently easier to look day by day than to the further future. I don't know where my future lies and how long it still is.
I hope that there is still a lot of time,” she said.
Bout-Boertien documents her treatment journey on Instagram, where she has nearly 55,000 followers. She started writing in a notebook after receiving conflicting medical information early on.
“In the beginning there are so many different things that come your way. I started writing that down for myself.
One day I was told this, the other day I was told that. It was often contradictory,” she said.
Her social media posts generate public support, which gives her strength during difficult procedures.
“Writing something down every day. Every day more people started following me.
That yielded very sweet responses and that does you good again,” she said.
Organizers use World Lung Cancer Day to highlight that the disease can affect anyone, regardless of smoking history or age.
“We used to think that only people who smoked got lung cancer. That is not so.
After all, I have never smoked. We also used to have the idea that mainly older people got lung cancer.
I am 40. It is important to realize that anyone can get lung cancer,” she said.
“If you have lungs, you can get cancer. Be aware of that.
Try to live healthily,” she added.
