Forever in our hearts. Rest in peace dear Martijn.

Hi, my name is Anne-Marije and I am fundraising for my best friend Martijn de Bruijn.

If you know Martijn de Bruijn, then you are one of the lucky ones. He is the clown, the one who never fails to make you laugh, who makes you feel uplifted, welcome and wanted. He is the most down to earth and positive guy I know. You just can’t help but love him. He’s that kinda guy!

Four years ago Martijn was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It turned his world upside down and a rollercoaster period of chemotherapy treatment followed as well as having surgery to remove the tumor and to add a colostomy bag to allow for his body to heal.

A year later Martijn finally got the all clear. We celebrated big! We had him back! But shortly thereafter, he received the devastating news that his cancer had come back, but this time it had spread to his lungs and liver.

The chemotherapy treatment he received made him really sick. Since, he’s received endless chemotherapy and radiation treatments to try and attack the cancer and his body has suffered greatly as a result. Despite all this, he continues working as much as he can and never fails to be the first one to show up to offer help, make people laugh, and to be the life and soul of the party. The forever optimist.

A few months ago Martijn started having debilitating back pains and it turned out that the cancer had also spread to his bones. Then the other day, he noticed a lump on the side of his head which is growing rapidly. This has affected his vision and forces him to stay home more often. More scans followed and it turned out that there is a tumor growing inside of his head as well as in his small intestines and more spots on his lungs and liver. This is a critical time for Martijn.

A recent study was done on Martijn’s cancer in Europe to help determine the best route to go on treatments to tackle his cancer. From those results they discovered they could get most of these treatments done in Mexico. There are no effective treatments left available to him here in the US.

With this information we have hope that this will help kill his cancer. It is a long and costly road ahead, and it will take time and patience to get there.

Martijn (44) is an incredible father of two sweet young girls, Sophie (9) and Olivia (5), a loving husband to his wonderful wife Gail (38), friend, brother, son and so much more to all of those that know him and love him. Gail has been his ever present rock. And his two girls his source of pure joy.

Martijn and Gail met almost 20 years ago in Holland. Gail, an Irish girl, fell in love with Martijn. They have been together and very much in love with each other ever since. They got married and made a major decision to move to California almost 11 years ago with a dream to build up a new life here, have kids, animals on a little ranch where they could also grow their own vegetables and flowers. Martijn’s passion is growing and has done that his whole life. His favorite hobby is to be out fishing with his friends.

Anyone who has had the privilege to meet, or spend time with Martijn and Gail and their girls knows they are simply amazing. They are amongst the strongest people I know. They went through the terrible loss of Martijn’s mother to breast cancer only just over a year ago with remarkable strength.

I am so sad to say that it is now his turn to fight for his life so he can live to see his little girls graduate from school, and continue to celebrate their milestones with them and all the joys life has to offer their family for years to come. He has been working so hard towards realizing their big dream of owning a little ranch and then cancer happened. He would give anything to make that happen.

How you can help

Martijn does everything in life with passion. Anyone who knows him knows what a fighter he is. I have never met a person as selfless as Martijn. He always puts others first and cares deeply for those around him. He is incredibly kind-hearted, generous, selfless and always there for a friend.

Now it is our turn to be there for him and support him as he fights for his life and battles this deadly disease.

As you can imagine, the weight of all of this on Martijn and his family is incredible. There are still many unknowns as to the treatment in the months ahead, but one thing that is very well known is the financial burdens that Martijn and his family have had to endure already. Medical costs, fueling Martijn's body for optimum healing, and every day financial responsibilities continue to grow.

And now, as Martijn focuses on fighting the biggest battle of his life, we want to help lighten this financial burden so they can focus on the lifesaving treatment and medical support he needs to survive.

Martijn is determined to fight this cancer, and come out even stronger on the other side. At this critical time, he needs your generous support to get him through and be prepared for what lies ahead. With your help this will make it possible to do these special treatments and help save his life.

Thank you all for taking the time to visit this page. Please share this information on your social media platforms. Thank you for all your love, prayers, and support. What a blessing you are to Martijn and his beloved girls. As we learn more, I will update you frequently.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions on how to help!

Thank you so very much,

Anne-Marije Short