Kathy Taylor, a cancer fighter who inspired singer Sarah McLachlan and others by her “strength and courage,” has died in Utah at the age of 34, according to the Deseret News.
Taylor, who died at her home in Bear River on Wednesday, made headlines for her fight against cancer while pregnant with her sixth child. She was four months pregnant when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma.
Taylor and doctors tried to keep the pregnancy going throughout her treatment, but she gave birth prematurely on Sept. 11 to son Luke, who weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces. He died a few weeks after his birth.
Brave Mom Who Declined #CancerTreatment to Save Her Baby’s Life Has Died #KathyTaylor… http://t.co/AUeiUQY1BT pic.twitter.com/vKi2QmOiz2
— Trending Cancer News (@cancerolizer) January 2, 2015
Taylor was originally diagnosed seven years ago and was declared cancer free after doctors removed melanoma from her back.
When the cancer returned in June, Taylor and her husband, Nate Taylor, decided to blog the entire experience on their website Kathysmiracle.com.
Kathy Taylor, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer while pregnant, died at home http://t.co/Has7ijlMQW pic.twitter.com/Mt5j7TuhO6
— KSL.com (@KSLcom) January 1, 2015
McLachlan, who heard the story and was moved by Taylor’s experience, decided to help raise funds to cover Taylor’s medical costs.
Taylor had recorded McLachlan’s famous song, I Will Remember You, and the singer who called Taylor’s experience “a story of strength and courage” helped make Taylor’s version of the song available on iTunes with all proceeds going to her medical expenses.
More than $70,000 was raised through various fundraising venues.
Throughout the ordeal and Taylor’s subsequent death, family members relied on their greatest strength — their faith.
In a final post on Christmas Eve, Taylor said that she tried to “hang on” until Christmas so she could share the holiday with her family and shared her most heart-felt prayer.
“I have to admit it has been extremely hard and I pray constantly for strength to endure cheerfully, to be able to continue to be kind and nurturing to my family till the end and I’ve been praying to not be afraid of what the end will look like,” she wrote.
“I pray for my husband to be comforted,” she continued. “I know this is hard for him. I still trust that God is completely aware and that everything will happen as it should. I will be grateful to be out of pain and with Heavenly Father and Jesus and hope to be able to offer lots of comfort to my family from the other side. I am so grateful they have so many wonderful people to turn to, a merciful God they can always pray to.”
