The origin

De Stichting BriBos is een initiatief van Brigitte Bosman. In 2003 werd er bij haar, na een hartinfarct, ontdekt dat ze longkanker (klein-cellig) had.
De prognose was helaas slecht.

For Brigitte the world stood still while everyone around her continued to live.
A period in which she sought information about her illness. Especially in the first few months after a diagnosis, you want to know what your options are.
Brigitte primarily searched the internet. There's a lot of information available there. However, it's difficult to determine whether that information is accurate and therefore reliable.
At one point she could no longer see the forest for the trees and she did not touch the brochures in the waiting room at the lung specialist's.
“If you pick up flyers in a waiting room, everyone looks at you, and that feels very uncomfortable,” says Brigitte.

Brigitte started volunteering at HMC Westeinde Hospital in The Hague, working for Lung Cancer Netherlands and various other organizations. She also helped set up a website that provides clear and accurate information about cancer: the increasingly well-known Kanker.nl.
Today (2015), more than 12 years after her diagnosis, it is clear to Brigitte what she missed during that first period of her illness.
A listening ear, good information, and connections with others who wanted to share their experiences. Because she still couldn't find all this in one place, Brigitte created that space herself (at HMC Westeinde Hospital in The Hague).
She handed out a few bags with specific information about cancer in the oncology department, including a small gift/pampering moment. This was so well-received by patients, doctors, and nurses alike that a few bags soon became insufficient.

She asked via Facebook if people had samples for the bags, but soon companies also donated items for the bags and blue and pink bags were also donated.
The initiative has resulted in the establishment of, formally, the BriBos Verwentasjes Foundation – in short Stichting BriBos – but especially in the homely and hospitable walk-in/pampering room in the HMC Westeinde Hospital in The Hague as a centre for various activities.

We have now moved with the room and our volunteers to the HMC Anthoniushove because that is where the oncological care is housed.