A leukaemia sufferer who wrote ‘F**k cancer’ on her face for a selfie that went viral has died aged just 28.
Kathryn Cartwright went on to become an inspirational figure after making headlines with the photo in 2014.
She had been diagnosed with leukaemia when she was 16 and told there was an 80 per cent chance the disease would kill her.
But Ms Cartwright, from Sutton, Coldfield, defied the odds year after year, and was keen to make it to her 30th birthday.
Despite being considered in remission, she passed away on January 18 from a liver infection after being unwell for weeks.
It’s thought she contracted the antibiotic-resistant superbug Klebsiella, which her immune system was unable to fight off because it had been devastated by cancer.
Her family announced Ms Cartwright died peacefully in hospital, surrounded by her loved ones.
Kathryn Cartwright became an inspirational figure since her leukaemia diagnosis 13 years ago, aged 16. She wrote ‘F***k cancer’ for a viral selfie in 2014 after falling from her wheelchair and bruising her face (pictured). She died on January 18, her family have announced
Ms Cartwright’s family revealed she had died of an ‘insurmountable’ liver infection caused by a superbug called Klebsiella. She had fought the bug before
Her death was announced in an update on her website, which read: ‘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.’
The statement was accompanied by a drawing of Ms Cartwright on the website she called ‘In one of the stars I shall be living’.
Ms Cartwright had suffered from Klebsiella at least twice. The superbug infects and starts to shut down organs that it infects.
In a post on her website in November, Ms Cartwright penned: ‘The pain returned on the 27th of November, so we went to A&E, and essentially, the klebsiella is back.
‘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.’
The Anthony Nolan charity – for which Ms Cartwright was an ambassador – paid tribute on its website.
Chief executive Henny Braund said: ‘Many of us will remember fondly Kathryn’s strong and positive attitude coupled with a dry sense of humour; a remarkable individual who shared her own story to inspire others.’
Seven years after her diagnosis, Ms Cartwright posted a shocking selfie of her bruised face after falling out her wheelchair. She is pictured at her home in Sutton, Coldfield
Her death was announced in an update on her website accompanied by a drawing of Ms Cartwright on the website she called ‘In one of the stars I shall be living’
Ms Cartwright was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) in August 2007. The disease left Ms Cartwright weak and reliant on a wheelchair at times.
Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells that protect the body against infections.
AML – which affects around one in 200 people in the UK – is a very aggressive form of the disease because it attacks the body’s defence.
In the US, of all 61,780 new cases of leukaemia every year, about 21,450 will be AML, mostly in adults.
Seven years after her diagnosis, Ms Cartwright posted a shocking selfie of her bruised face after falling out her wheelchair.
She had written ‘F*** cancer’ under her blackened and bloodshot eye, an image that made headlines in 2014.
Ms Cartwright had undergone three bone marrow transplants to treat her AML.
The procedure replaces unhealthy blood-forming cells (stem cells) with healthy ones. The new cells travel to the inside of the bones and begin to make healthy blood cells.
Each year more than 400 patients in the UK can’t have this potentially lifesaving treatment because there aren’t enough donors.
Ms Cartwright spent years campaigning for the public to sign up for the stem cell registry so other AML sufferers can have the transplants.
Her last post on her website was posted just before Christmas, on December 21.
Ms Cartwright published a picture of her Christmas tree in the living room 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.’
Ms Cartwright’s last tweet, on January 8, said she had been in ‘agony’ all day but felt frustrated with her care.
In a post on her website in November, accompanied with this photo, Ms Cartwright penned: ‘The pain returned on the 27th of November… essentially, the klebsiella is back’
Ms Cartwright had undergone three bone marrow transplants – the last of which left her fighting for her life. She is pictured after her first one in 2008
Ms Cartwright had a liver transplant when her liver failed. Her skin turned yellow with jaundice (pictured) as she was in desperate need of a new liver
She wrote: ‘I have been quiet all day because the bad pain has come back and the doctors have not listened to me so I have been in agony all day, waiting for different drugs, wailing and flailing, trying to find a comfortable position. What is this bug?’
In her last interview with Birmingham Live, in November, Ms Cartwright talked about living with AML, including having an oxygen tank everywhere she goes.
She said: ‘Twelve years ago I was told you’ve got leukemia.
‘Since then people keep telling me you’re going to die and I just haven’t.
‘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.’
Ms Cartwright 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.
‘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.’
To sign up to the stem call register, click here.
