LauraP

This is Kellie's sister Laura. Thank you for posting, Debbie. I had planned to update this forum about Kellie's passing, but I hope you'll understand that the family has been laying low for a while. Kellie had been making progress with treatment of her brain tumor up until mid-February. Around this time, however, the disease continued to spread much more rapidly in her lungs and thyroid, and it soon became impossible to both stabilize the brain and control the sudden new growths. This did seem like an abrupt turn, especially since Kellie was so accustomed to bouncing back from every recurrence and fighting with every ounce of her being. She never accepted any news from her doctor as a sentence, only as a new step. Her oncologist removed her from the latest clinical trial on February 28 only because she had become progressively weaker and unresponsive to further treatment. The next few days were dedicated to managing pain, and we believe that when Kellie passed she was no longer suffering.

I know this community was very important to Kellie. Thank you to everyone on the forum for giving her the opportunity to speak frankly about melanoma and for commiserating, celebrating, and raging along with her. She trusted her fellow warriors to provide advice or consolation with every setback or victory and she looked forward to good news from other fighters. Kellie was a tenacious public advocate for melanoma awareness and research, and we encouraged family and friends to contribute to the Melanoma Research Foundation in her honor. I wish the best for all of you and hope you continue to fight this ugly and too-often-overlooked disease.

This is Kellie's sister Laura. Thank you for posting, Debbie. I had planned to update this forum about Kellie's passing, but I hope you'll understand that the family has been laying low for a while. Kellie had been making progress with treatment of her brain tumor up until mid-February. Around this time, however, the disease continued to spread much more rapidly in her lungs and thyroid, and it soon became impossible to both stabilize the brain and control the sudden new growths. This did seem like an abrupt turn, especially since Kellie was so accustomed to bouncing back from every recurrence and fighting with every ounce of her being. She never accepted any news from her doctor as a sentence, only as a new step. Her oncologist removed her from the latest clinical trial on February 28 only because she had become progressively weaker and unresponsive to further treatment. The next few days were dedicated to managing pain, and we believe that when Kellie passed she was no longer suffering.

I know this community was very important to Kellie. Thank you to everyone on the forum for giving her the opportunity to speak frankly about melanoma and for commiserating, celebrating, and raging along with her. She trusted her fellow warriors to provide advice or consolation with every setback or victory and she looked forward to good news from other fighters. Kellie was a tenacious public advocate for melanoma awareness and research, and we encouraged family and friends to contribute to the Melanoma Research Foundation in her honor. I wish the best for all of you and hope you continue to fight this ugly and too-often-overlooked disease.

This is Kellie's sister Laura. Thank you for posting, Debbie. I had planned to update this forum about Kellie's passing, but I hope you'll understand that the family has been laying low for a while. Kellie had been making progress with treatment of her brain tumor up until mid-February. Around this time, however, the disease continued to spread much more rapidly in her lungs and thyroid, and it soon became impossible to both stabilize the brain and control the sudden new growths. This did seem like an abrupt turn, especially since Kellie was so accustomed to bouncing back from every recurrence and fighting with every ounce of her being. She never accepted any news from her doctor as a sentence, only as a new step. Her oncologist removed her from the latest clinical trial on February 28 only because she had become progressively weaker and unresponsive to further treatment. The next few days were dedicated to managing pain, and we believe that when Kellie passed she was no longer suffering.

I know this community was very important to Kellie. Thank you to everyone on the forum for giving her the opportunity to speak frankly about melanoma and for commiserating, celebrating, and raging along with her. She trusted her fellow warriors to provide advice or consolation with every setback or victory and she looked forward to good news from other fighters. Kellie was a tenacious public advocate for melanoma awareness and research, and we encouraged family and friends to contribute to the Melanoma Research Foundation in her honor. I wish the best for all of you and hope you continue to fight this ugly and too-often-overlooked disease.