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VÄSTERÅS. Sweden Democrats party veteran Sven-Olof Sällström is terminally ill with cancer and has only months to live.
In an interview with Aftonbladet, the member of parliament talks about the heavy illness announcement, life in the party and hope for the future.
– Right from the beginning I had the attitude that I should not see myself as sick, says Sven-Olof Sällström.
Sven-Olof Sällström reached a milestone after the election in 2022. Then he, who had worked as a professional officer, had to take over as deputy chairman of the Riksdag’s defense committee.
– You cannot stop life for five years and wait for you to be declared healthy. So I accepted the assignment as vice chairman of the defense committee, because I started to feel good again, he says when Aftonbladet meets him at SD’s country days in Västerås.
It was in December 2021 that Sven-Olof Sällström learned that he has bile duct cancer. Then followed extensive and difficult operations with complications. Sällström also entered chemotherapy programs.
– Right from the start, I had the attitude that I should not see myself as sick. I will continue to live. I’ll get in the shower in the morning, get dressed, put on a suit and tie and try to get to work.
– I partially succeeded, I was quite ill.
“Laying in bed and watching Netflix, then I die”
A month before the 2022 election, he underwent examinations and things began to look brighter, says Sven-Olof Sällström. Then the hope was raised that he might be one of the few to survive the disease.
But then came the twist. During a business trip to Oslo in February, he got an upset stomach and had to seek medical care. At the hospital in Norway, a large number of metastases were discovered in the liver.
During the spring, several complications came: blood poisoning, high blood pressure and clots in the lungs.
– That I survived it was pure luck.
In February, Sven-Olof Sällström was informed that the disease he is carrying cannot be cured.
– I have decided not to take sick leave, to try to avoid it as much as I can. Laying in bed and watching Netflix, then I die.
“Then I have bought extra time”
Despite the illness, Sven-Olof Sällström remains hopeful. At the beginning of December, he will receive new information from the oncologist.
– If it turns out that the chemotherapy works, then I have bought extra time. But it doesn’t really matter because what will ultimately take my life is the cancer.
After the party meeting, he will step down from the top position in the committee. The disease makes that impossible.
– When I’m not working, I mostly sleep. I haven’t been very social lately.
– The job as vice-chairman, to sit on the board in a committee, is quite extensive. This means that you must represent the Riksdag during trips abroad, conferences and various events that are far above what ordinary members do. I stated a few weeks ago that I won’t be doing this much longer, I need to slow down.
But Sven-Olof Sällström wants to continue working in the Riksdag as long as he can.
– I go back and become a deputy and work as much as I can and contribute as much as I can.
– It feels good. It is absolutely the right decision.
What has political life meant to you?
– It is very important to me. That’s why I keep working.
When Sven-Olof Sällström joined SD seventeen years ago, the party was against Swedish NATO membership. It was the only point on which he and the party disagreed, says Sven-Olof Sällström.
Now the party is in favor and Sällström hopes that he will have time to experience Sweden becoming a member.
Another issue that occupies his time and energy is the war in Ukraine. The mother of Sven-Olof Sällström’s son is originally from there. Sven-Olof Sällström becomes emotional when he talks about the war.
– I am very involved in their war against the occupying power.
– I’m a little sad that I probably won’t get to experience Ukraine winning that war, because I would have liked to have been a part of that.