Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden, one of Dota 2’s most prominent casters and streamer. While streaming on her Twitch channel, she revealed that he has been diagnosed with cancer and will start Chemo treatment later this week.
“Well, I have breast cancer,” she told her viewers during her daily Dota 2 stream. “It hasn’t spread. It’ll take a while to recover from it. Starting on chemo on Thursday and yea that will take a while.”
She added that she’d be heading to the hospital with her brother and undergoing Cold Cap treatment. She added that they’ll try and prevent the loss of hair that can result from chemotherapy. And she also might be probably able to keep only 30% of her hair. She mentioned the costs involved and that her insurance should cover her medical expenses.
In a special message to channel subscribers sent out earlier in the day, Sheever wrote the following, “Hello, First of all, thank you for your support. I have some not so pleasant news that I wanted to share with you.”
“Two and a half week ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And on the coming Thursday, I start with chemo which will last for half a year, followed by surgery and radiotherapy. Everyone reacts differently to chemo, so I don’t know yet what kind of impact it will have on me. I expect I can still stream on some days, but the streams will probably be shorter than normal. On the “bright” side I should be able to stream more since I will not go to (as many) events.
I am heading towards a rough time, but I feel very supported. I have friends, family, and Owen taking care of me.”
Fans from across the Dota 2 community immediately began offering their support. Her colleagues also showed their support over Twitter.
DotA 2 community moves reactions
Originally from the Netherlands, Sheever began her casting career with GosuGamers in 2012. Thereafter she moved on to work independently. She worked as an analyst and caster for some of the game’s biggest events, including Starladder, Valve-sponsored Majors, and The Internationals. As a result of her treatment, Sheever said she would miss the Manilla Masters tournament later this month as well as the next few weeks of DreamLeague.
“I think for most of the people who work in Dota 2 that private life kind of isn’t there,” she said in an interview earlier this year. “You have to give up a lot.” In exchange for all of that work, Sheever has become a pillar of the Dota 2 community, a scene where women are severely underrepresented.
