Delani Cancer Controversy: Mom Dana Diekmeier Speaks Out

The story of Delani Diekmeier, the 14-year-old daughter of ex-HSV star Dennis Diekmeier (36), is shocking. Since January, the life of the family of six has turned 180 degrees due to the girl’s cancer diagnosis. Mother Dana Diekmeier (40) speaks in a current video interview with Stern.de about the stroke of fate and also about questions that have tormented her as a mother since the devastating diagnosis.

As part of the series “My Life as a Mother”, Dana Diekmeier first looks back at the time at the beginning of the year when it was discovered that Delani had a tumor on her adrenal gland. It was removed – and initially the doctors were positive. “Nothing dramatic in itself,” remembers Dana Diekmeier of the initial statements.

“It got worse and worse”: Dana Diekmeier on the cancer drama surrounding her daughter Delani

It wasn’t until three weeks later that it became clear how serious the situation actually was and is for Delani: the tumor turned out to be malignant and it was discovered that it had already spread. Metastases had formed in the lungs.

Dana Diekmeier remembers: “It got worse and worse. First it was just a tumor, then it was cancer, and now she has no chance of being cured. (…) That she is so seriously ill that we don’t know whether she will survive.”

When the doctors told them about the cancer diagnosis in the clinic, they “couldn’t have grasped” what they were hearing. Delani also asked, “What does that mean now?”

“What happened to make this happen?”

“Of course those were the words chemotherapy, your hair will fall out, you’ll lose weight, you’ll probably need a feeding tube, you won’t be able to eat, you’ll be in the hospital a lot,” says Dana. She sat there powerless and realized that she wouldn’t be able to relieve her daughter of all these hardships – even though she would have loved nothing more than that.

“You sit next to yourself and just watch this and think, I don’t want that now. How is that supposed to work? I have three other children and how is this child supposed to go through all of this? And what happened to make it this way?”

“What did i do wrong?” Dana Diekmeier on tormenting questions

Dana Diekmeier reports on the tormenting feelings of guilt and questions that concern her as a mother. “I then blamed myself so much as to why I didn’t take her to the doctor earlier, then the tumor wouldn’t be so big.”

She says with emotional words: “I often think, what did I do wrong during pregnancy that she has this, because I gave birth to her like that. What did I miss when she was smaller?” She added tearfully that of course she “couldn’t find an answer” to these questions. But then she thinks: “If I hadn’t given birth to her, she wouldn’t be sick.” They are the moving words of a mother who has been fearing for her child’s life for months.

Family and doctors hope for a new medication for Delani

In recent months, Delani has had to endure strenuous operations and chemotherapy. They didn’t have the desired effect. The doctors then relied on immunotherapy.

Under no circumstances will they stop fighting, Dana Diekmeier recently made that clear in an interview with BUNTE. They’re hoping for a miracle for Delani, for time and a new drug that can cure her. “I don’t just watch my child die? Even if it’s only 1 percent that she survives – I have to use that one percent?!” she emphasized in an interview with BUNTE. For this reason, they separated from their previous team of doctors because they only wanted to treat Delani palliatively.

Delani incredibly brave: “Don’t worry, I can do it”

In the “Stern” interview, Dana Diekmeier once again emphasizes how impressed she is by her daughter’s incredibly courageous way of dealing with her serious illness. The 14-year-old draws strength from, among other things, her love of equestrian sports and her horse. Her daughter is “90 percent” positive and says: “Don’t worry, I can do it,” emphasizes Dana Diekmeier.

Of course, she also has bad moments when they cry together and when she doesn’t want to be alone. “No, Mom, what if I die now?” she once asked her. “When do I die and how do I die and what happens?” her daughter sometimes wants to know. “Of course I know that it concerns her and it concerns me and her siblings too,” she gives an insight into the difficult everyday life of the family since the cancer drama.

“Actually, nothing helps her during this stressful time, except that I see Delani on some days when she’s feeling well and that we can go to the stable, that she sits on her horse, that we just laugh together.”

Fundraiser for cancer research

She advises any family in a similar situation to grab “every blade of grass.” “You can always try anything.” You always have to keep fighting. The mother of four emphasizes: “I can’t help but be positive. Because I can’t imagine being without her.”