Wednesday 21 February 2018

Missing Laurie Kingston

Yes, I'm still here. But Laurie isn't. Last fall, her brain metastases spread faster than radiation could treat them. I was able to see her a time or two during treatment and while she was in hospital. But she passed away on January 8, 2018, just before I could visit her in hospice.

It is hard to know what to say about Laurie's loss. I feel it in so many ways. Laurie was a my friend. We shared some unusual commonalities. In addition to being bloggers who love needle crafts and curly-haired dogs, we have fourteen-year-olds, very bright ones. We also share metastatic breast cancer and even have the same awesome medical oncologist.

I became aware of Laurie from her blog, "not just about cancer", which introduced me to her book, "not done yet". I reached out to her online and, wonder of wonders, she reached back. Laurie was the first person with metastatic breast cancer (MBC or stage IV breast cancer) that I'd met in person. I was thrilled to meet her and intimidated by the success of her blog and book. There is a lot about Laurie that could be intimidating. She is an amazing writer. But she is, sorry was, such a down to earth person that being with her never was intimidating. She was a nice lady, a mom, a wife, a writer, a friend, and so much more.

I was so lucky to have met Laurie when I did and get a chance to develop our friendship while she was well. And she was well for a long time. She gave a great deal of hope to others with MBC, even after she was diagnosed with lepto-meningeal metastases, which are quite rare and, frankly, scary. Laurie didn't let them scare us. She simply, well it seemed simple to me, got herself into a uniquely small trial of a new therapy approach where Herceptin is introduced directly into the brain to fight these mets. It worked for a long time. Then, like most MBC treatment, it didn't work any more.

All those years that Laurie lived with metastatic breast cancer, she did more than simply live. She wrote, she knit, she raised her boys. And she advocated for change. She was a board member of the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. She was part of a lobby day for greater awareness of MBC and the need for more funding and research.

Laurie Kingston was amazing for the friend she was, but in truth, she needs to be acclaimed for her advocacy while living with this disease. It is no easy feat.


See Laurie's blog for her obituary here.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks to Dr Williams I am so happy today, my wife have been suffering from breast cancer for the past 8 years now, and i have spent a lot on western drugs which has all proved abortive, i have tried all means in life to get my wife out of this , but there was no answer until i decided to try herbal solution and i found Dr Williams online and i contacted him and after she took his medication as instructed, my wife is now completely cure from breast cancer within those week of usage, i am so much happy, thanks to Dr Williams for helping me get my wife life back again without any form of crisis, i promise to tell your name and good deeds to the whole world,if you have someone with cancer you can email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for more information .

    ReplyDelete
  2. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM BREAST CANCER.
    I'm here again to appreciate DR WILLIAMS God will always continue to bless you more abundantly, for the good works you done in my life, I will always keep on writing good and posting my testimonies about you on the Internet, I’m Jessica from Orlando, Florida. I was tested breast cancer positive, I saw a blog on how DR WILLIAMS cured people with his herbal portion, i did not believe in natural medicine but i just decided to give him a try, I contacted him,and explain my situation to him,few day later he sent me the herb, after taking doc Williams herbal medicine for few week i also got my healing with his herbal portion, i am so happy. If you have any type of cancer problem ,you can contact him on Drwilliams098675@gmail.com for advice and for his product,i hope this testimony also help some one out there .

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am Sophie from Canada, I once suffered from a terrible and Chronic breast cancer ,since 30years now , the doctor told me there was no permanent cure i was given medications to slow down its progress, i constantly felt my health was deteriorating as i constantly go out of breath,and this illness was really terrible especially when am going out with my friends, i have this constant breast disorder for about 30 years, this was really a terrible illness ,on thin one day that i was going through the internet,and i came across a post of Mrs shelley on how his husband was been cured from colon cancer through the help of Dr Williams herbal product, I contacted this herbal doctor via his email and explain everything to him and make purchase of his product,few days later he sent me the herbal medicine through courier service, when i received the herbal medicine, i used it for 1 months as prescribed by Dr Williams and i was totally cured within those week of usage,on thin now i have not experience any sign or characteristics again . for more information you can email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello everyone, i'm Linda Harry from United State i was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease  for over 6 years which made me loose my job and my relationship with my Fiance after he discovered that i was having Parkinson, he departed from me, and i tried all my best to make him stays, but he neglected me until a friend of mine  from UK told me Great healer, who will restore my life back with his powerful healing herbal medicine. then he  sent me his email address to contact him- drimolaherbalmademedicine@gmail.com. and i quickly contacted him, and he said my condition can be solved, that he will treat the disease immediately only if i can accept trust on him and accept his terms and condition, i Agreed because i was so much in need of help by all means, so i did all he instructed me to do. And surprisingly after two weeks, He sent me a text, that i should hurry up to the hospital for a checkup, which i truly did, i confirm from my doctor that i am now ( PARKINSON NEGATIVE) my eyes filled with tears and joy, crying heavily because truly the disease deprived me of many things from my life, This is a Miracle, dr imoloa also uses his powerful herbal medicine to cure the following diseases:  lupus disease,  mouth ulcer,  mouth cancer, body pain, fever, hepatitis A.B.C.,   syphilis,  diarrhea,  HIV/AIDS,  Huntington's Disease,   back acne,  Chronic renal failure,   addison disease,  Chronic Pain,   Crohn's Disease,   Cystic Fibrosis,  Fibromyalgia,   Inflammatory Bowel Disease,  fungal nail disease, Lyme Disease, Celia disease, Lymphoma, Major Depression,  Malignant Melanoma,   Mania,  Melorheostosis,   Meniere's Disease,  Mucopolysaccharidosis , Multiple Sclerosis,  Muscular Dystrophy,  Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer's Disease, parkison disease, vaginal cancer, epilepsy,  Anxiety Disorders, Autoimmune Disease,   Back Pain,  Back Sprain,   Bipolar Disorder,  Brain Tumour,  Malignant,   Bruxism, Bulimia,  Cervical Disk Disease, cardiovascular disease, Neoplasms, chronic respiratory disease,  mental and behavioural disorder,     Cystic Fibrosis,   Hypertension, Diabetes, asthma,  Inflammatory autoimmune-mediated arthritis.  chronic kidney disease, inflammatory joint disease,  impotence,  feta alcohol spectrum,  Dysthymic Disorder,   Eczema, tuberculosis,  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, bone cancer, lung cancer. contact him on email- drimolaherbalmademedicine@gmail.com. and also on whatssap- +2347081986098

    ReplyDelete