“Wave of feelings”
Olympic champion plays again after diagnosis of cancer
02.09.2025 – 3:43 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
At the end of June, Camilla Herrem made her cancer diagnosis public. Now there is positive news: the handball player was back on the record.
The two-time handball Olympic champion Camilla Herrem celebrated an emotional comeback after her breast cancer diagnosis. The 38-year-old was on the field at the 29:24 win of Sola against Oppsal in Norway over the full season and scored four goals.
“It was like a wave of feelings,” said Herrem after the game in conversation with the Norwegian Rundfunk NRK. Already when the players were introduced, she felt a dumpling in her throat.
Around two months ago, the Norwegian international had made it public via Instagram that breast cancer was found. Shortly afterwards she started chemotherapy. Last Tuesday, she received the last of several treatments that she described as very strong. Five days later she was back in the field – although another twelve weeks of therapy are in front of her.
“I would never have thought that I was allowed to experience it again. It is wonderful for me and my psyche,” said Herrem. Handball was always a refuge for her.
Before the comeback, she had close exchange with doctors and nursing staff. She emphasized that she has to listen to her body well and control her load, she emphasized. The next competitive game in the trophy against Stavanger is waiting for Sola on Wednesday before the Champions League begins three days later. “I want to be there with everything that is possible,” said Herrem.
Her return meets great recognition in Norway. “She is a very strong person. I am glad that she is back,” said player Malin Holta. Ex-international Silje Wade added: “She is physically like a machine, it looks as if her body is made of concrete.”
Earlier companions are also impressed. “The most important thing is that Camilla survives. Handball is secondary,” said the former national team captain Bjarte Myrhol, who himself had cancer in 2011.
Mr. played 332 caps for Norway and won eleven times gold at international tournaments. After the European Championship title in December, she had explained her resignation from the national team.
Experts see an extraordinary signal in their appearance. “Currently running in the middle of chemotherapy in the league is exceptional. You can only take your hat off,” said researcher Sara Hassing Johansen from the University of Oslo. At the same time, she emphasized that this was not the rule and that every patient reacted individually to the treatment.