Sylvia Maria Millecam (23 February 1956 – 20 August 2001) was a Dutch actress and comedian. She was featured regularly on Dutch television where she hosted several shows. Millecam also appeared in several Dutch movies and released two albums. Her death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in 2001 caused nationwide controversy as she had refused treatment that would most likely have saved her life. In doing so, she was advised by Dutch healing

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

Jomanda.

Biography

Millecam was born in The Hague and later moved to

Boxmeer Boxmeer () is a town and former municipality in upper southeastern Netherlands. Boxmeer as a municipality incorporated the former municipality of Beugen en Rijkevoort and that of Vierlingsbeek. One of the population centers of the former municip ...

. She received her professional training at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. Millecam became famous after appearing in popular television shows like ''Ook Dat Nog'' (based on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

program ''

That's Life! ''That's Life!'' was a satirical consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving between 10,000 and 15,000 letters a week. The series was broadcast on BBC1 for 21 yea ...

'') and ''Buitenlandse Zaken'', a political

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

. She was named "most popular Dutch television personality" by Dutch broadcasting company ''

TROS TROS, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting ("Television Radio Broadcasting Foundation"), was a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. This broadcasting association was partic ...

'', beating popular star

Linda de Mol Linda Margaretha de Mol (born 8 July 1964) is a Dutch television presenter and actress in the Netherlands and Germany. She is the sister of TV-producer and Endemol co-founder John de Mol, and has frequently appeared in productions of his. She ...

twice in a row. In 1994 she had her own show, ''The Sylvia Millecam Show'', and several years later ''Miss Millecam'', both on

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...

. Millecam posed for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' twice, first in 1989 and again in 1994.

Illness and death

In 1999 Millecam was diagnosed with possible

. Her condition was confirmed in 2000. Before this, possibly unrelated, Millecam had suffered ruptured

breast implant A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenita ...

s. Although she visited several medical doctors, in the end she decided to forgo regular treatment and instead sought

second opinion A second opinion is an opinion on a matter disputed by two or more parties. Law In legal cases, a second opinion which contradicts the opinion of a jointly retained expert may be disregarded as not being impartial. Consumer rights In cas ...

help from paranormal and alternative healers. One of these was the Dutch medium Jomanda, at the time a famous

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Millecam's condition steadily worsened, and she was eventually admitted to

Nijmegen University Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistently been included in ...

hospital at a time when the tumor had grown beyond medical treatment. Two days later she died in hospital, after receiving the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

. On 19 June 2007, three physicians who had advised alternative therapy to Millecam, were prohibited from working as physicians, two of them permanently, the other for one year.

References

External links

*
Sylvia's funeral
(article in Dutch)
Dutch television history archive
(in Dutch)
Netherlands to crack down on complementary medicine
BMJ, 28 February 2004
Physicians forced to surrender licenses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millecam, Sylvia 1956 births 2001 deaths Dutch film actresses Dutch television actresses Actresses from The Hague Deaths from breast cancer in the Netherlands Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni 20th-century Dutch actresses Dutch women comedians People from Boxmeer Comedians from The Hague