On Sunday afternoon, April 18th, 2010 Nadia Van Camp passed away peacefully after her long and courageous battle with breast cancer.
Nadia had been fighting breast cancer for over eight years from the time she discovered her first tumor.
This is a far too common story as many women continue to fight as hard as she did. So many that have found a way to look past their disease and focus on what's meaningful in life. So many who have been an inspiration to their loved ones and all those around them.
With this as a backdrop, Nadia's Gift Foundation was launched on Nadia's 50th birthday in April of 2009. Founded by Nadia's husband Peter, Nadia's Gift was created out of the inspiration that Nadia and those like her provide. It was created to try to find meaning and make sense out of what Nadia faced every day for over eight years.
Although the tumor was quite small at that time, Nadia knew it would have significant impact on her life and the lives of those close to her as she lost her mother at age 50 and two of her aunts to breast cancer. Through genetic testing, Nadia's pre-disposition to this disease was confirmed, which presented very high odds of this life altering event and it's ensuing re-occurrence. Attacking the disease as aggressively as she could, Nadia spent 6 hours on an operating table as a double mastectomy and prophylactic oophorectomy were performed. This was followed by many weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. However, she also learned of lymph node involvement in the process, which became the pathway for future metastasis that she continued to fight every day. Over the course of time, Nadia had brain surgery to remove a mass on her cerebellum and two procedures of radio surgery to contain other brain lesions determined to be inoperable. She's had numerous direct spinal infusions of chemo to address tumors that developed there. These infusions became ineffective over time, which led to an intensive daily course of whole brain and spine radiation for six straight weeks in the fall of 07. Additionally, Nadia endured continued chemotherapy to manage a metastasis in her liver and a reoccurrence in her brain. Partial disability resulted from the brain and spine involvement and the treatments themselves.
However, through all of this, she never really flinched. She never lost her incredible smile, never lost her ability to so readily laugh with, and love her family and many close friends. And always found a way to bring her husband joy every day.
Her amazing spirit continues to inspire all of us.