Dirk van der Oord of Camperduin, who lived from 1948 to 2026, was reported to have developed six new cancers and lost part of his shoulder and three parts of both lungs. Despite his illness, he remained an optimistic pigeon fancier.

His general practitioner, Van Esch from Petten, visited him every week for coffee and to check on him, according to his son Cas van der Oord, who praised the doctor’s care.