London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Woman who wrote ‘f**k cancer’ on her face after being covered in bruises dies aged 28

A woman who inspired others as she continued her life with leukaemia for nearly 13 years has died in hospital.

Kathryn Cartwright, 28, defiantly wrote ‘f**k cancer’ on her face after she was covered in bruises when she fell out of her wheelchair.

Her website announced that she died in hospital on Saturday surrounded by her family, along with a drawing of Kathryn that said ‘in one of the stars I shall be living’.

Blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan said she was an ‘incredible woman who worked tirelessly to support people with blood cancer’.

They added: ‘Her positivity and sense of humour will be greatly missed, but her legacy lives on’.

Kathryn died after succumbing to an ‘insurmountable’ liver infection and her last tweet on January 8 said she had been in agony all day.

She was diagnosed in 2007 when she was just 16 and given just 20 per cent chance of survival.

In 2014 she took the selfie that offered hope and inspiration to others and in 2015 she received 80 Valentine’s Day cards after never saying she had never got one.

She underwent a liver transplant and three bone marrow transplants and became an Anthony Nolan ambassador, urging others to become stem cell donors like those who gave her a chance at life.

In her final interview last November she said: ‘I would really like to make it to 30.

‘All I really want to do now is get to 30 so I can hold a benefit party for myself so that I can hold a comedy gig to raise money for Anthony Nolan. I did it before in February 2018 as part of ten years since I had been in remission.

‘If I don’t I would like my family to [put the gig on] anyway. I am sure [the comedians] would like to do it.’


Kathryn said she thought about death ‘a lot’ and said: ‘It is sad but I am more concerned for my family. If I am dead I am gone but my family have to live with that.

‘It kills me to know that is going to happen with my family. At some point everyone is going to be sad and that is probably going to go on for the rest of their life.

‘I’ve never been scared, just sad because I might not be able to say goodbye to them.

‘In reality living a long life is not going to happen.’

Announcing her death, Kathryn’s website said: ‘As many of you will have realised, Kathryn has been unwell and in hospital for some weeks.

‘The infection in her liver returned and this time proved to be insurmountable. Kathryn died peacefully on Saturday 18 January with her family at her side.’

Her last post on the site was posted just before Christmas, on December 21.

Kathryn published a picture of her lounge dressed for the festive season but said she would not be updating until she could type ‘reliably’.

She added: ‘Currently I have side-effects from having one of my drugs messed about with in hospital, so I randomly shake or flail. Normal proceedings shall resume as soon as possible.’

And, in an earlier post, Kathryn said she did not expect to spend Christmas at home:

She said: ‘It is ironic that I have been trying to write a piece about how this was going to be my tenth consecutive Christmas at home, and this strikes. I am not expecting to wake up in my own bed on Christmas morning.

‘I know I keep writing pieces saying that I think the end is nigh, but every single time, that is how it feels. This infection is going to take a long time to shift, and in the long term, there isn’t really a plan yet.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×