Christel Grootscholten’s motivation: ‘Today I fight, tomorrow I fight and the day after tomorrow I fight too’

In the fight against cancer, Team Westland will climb the Col du Tourmalet in France on Wednesday, June 19. The more than 200 participants who will climb this 2,115 meter high mythical mountain this day by cycling, walking or running all have a personal motivation and memorial stone to place at the Team Westland monument. These stories can be read on the Team Westland website and some in Nieuwsblad Westland. This week we spoke about her motivation; participant Christel Grootscholten.

In the fight against cancer, Team Westland will climb the Col du Tourmalet in France on Wednesday, June 19. The more than 200 participants who will climb this 2,115 meter high mythical mountain this day by cycling, walking or running all have a personal motivation and memorial stone to place at the Team Westland monument. These stories can be read on the Team Westland website and some in Nieuwsblad Westland. This week we spoke about her motivation; participant Christel Grootscholten.

“I am Christel Grootscholten. In 2023, I organized a sponsored run at De Diamant primary school, together with my colleagues, because I am ill and have metastatic kidney cancer. Last year I was able to present a check at the Charity Evening. From the stage I saw a white tandem. My friend Nicolet Veerkamp went up the Tourmalet with it years ago because she was ill. I saw that tandem and thought “This might be an idea for me. Now that I am sick, I can still climb up with a boulder to place at the top.”

Just when we wanted to practice on the tandem, I received very bad news

I come from very far away, have very little muscle strength and little fitness after 2 years of illness. Just when we wanted to practice on the tandem, I received very bad news. I was told that the metastasis on my liver has grown very much and that I am no longer stable after 2 years. That throws a spanner in the works as far as possible tandem cycling on the Tourmalet. Now we have to wait and see what the medication will do to me, whether I can stay fit enough and continue training and be there in France. I will have a decisive scan soon.

The text on my rock is characteristic of me as a person. I am certainly not going to give up and am regularly told that I am a strong, powerful woman. But I want to get the most out of it. When I still feel good and can still do things, I don’t sit on the couch in a corner and cry.

There are certainly moments when I feel sad and cry, but certainly as an example to my three children, “you don’t give up”. I only give up when I have no other choice. That is the motivation for me to choose this text. I’ll keep doing that until I can’t anymore, I’ll keep fighting.”