Utah woman who refused cancer treatment to save unborn baby dies
Kathy Taylor passed away on New Year's Eve after battling melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The son she tried to save was born prematurely and died two weeks later.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, January 1, 2015, 1:52 PM
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FACEBOOKKathy Taylor, who refused cancer treatment to try to save her unborn baby, died Dec. 31. She, her husband, Nathan, and their five children are seen in the hospital.
A mom-to-be with cancer who desperately tried to save her unborn baby by refusing treatment died New Year's Eve.
Kathy Taylor, 34, of Utah, died at home following a battle with melanoma that began in August, her husband Nathan wrote on her blog, Kathy's Miracle.
While pregnant with her sixth child, Luke, Kathy learned of her diagnosis with the most lethal form of skin cancer. She refused treatment in order to keep her baby healthy. Tragically, Luke was born 14 weeks premature in September and died two weeks later after an infection.
Nathan wrote on her blog that Kathy's mother initially found her body, and that he fainted shortly after he saw her.
"As I realized she had gone I gathered her in my arms and embraced her," hesaid. "I could not believe it. I was so sad that I had been asleep and not been with her when she passed. I was so sad it was already goodbye."
FACEBOOKLittle Luke Taylor weighed just 1 pound when he was born but died two weeks later.
Nathan awoke two minutes after he fainted and helped his dad move Kathy into her bed. He spent about 10 minutes alone with his wife before bringing in their five children.
"It was traumatic for them," he wrote.
But the family will have Kathy's tenacious spirit as a cherished memory. When she was initially diagnosed, she was given just days, then weeks, to live. She tried to hold off on delivering Luke for as long as possible, but when her liver failed in September, doctors knew it was time for him to be born. He weighed just 1 pound, 15 ounces and was immediately rushed into neonatal intensive care. Kathy was given just one day to live.
But she pushed through, long enough to hold Luke until he died Sept. 27 — and long enough to celebrate the birthday of another son, to celebrate her own birthday and to share one last Christmas with her family.
