Jeppe was just three years old when he was diagnosed with a particularly severe form of leukemia. His parents, Merit und Crispin Henke, were shocked to hear that chemotherapy couldn't help their son. But there was hope for little Jeppe, in the form of a newly developed immunotherapy called CAR-T cell therapy. The hugely expensive treatment is not suited to every type of cancer, but it has worked for Jeppe. As the family celebrates his fifth birthday, Merit acknowledges the gift that the medical advancement has given them, saying: "My greatest wish is to see him grow up."

Shortly after she stopped breastfeeding her second son, Susanne Honig felt a lump in her breast. It was a life-changing moment that altered her perspective forever. After having her left breast removed, she began suffering severe joint and back pain and was found to have bone metastases in her spine. The diagnosis suggested that her cancer was incurable, but the 35-year-old mother has been determined to fight the disease. "It's not a stroke of fate, it's a wake-up call," she says. Honig still believes in her recovery, and has found strength through activities such as Beautiful You, a photoshoot program run by an adult education center in southern Germany. Thanks to a team of volunteer make-up artists, hairdressers and photographers, cancer patients can feel beautiful again – despite the changes in their bodies and the hardships of living with the disease.