Kathy Taylor: Mother who declined cancer treatment to try and save baby dies on New Year's Eve

Husband and wife set up blog to share her experience of the disease

A woman who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer when she was pregnant and declined treatment in an attempt to try and save the child, died on New Year’s Eve.

Kathy Taylor’s husband, Nathan, wrote on the blog they had set up to share the mother-of-five’s ordeal with the disease, that he had been asleep when his parents roused him to say they believe his wife had died in the bathroom.

“I could not believe it. I was so sad that I had been asleep and not been with her when she passed,” he wrote on their blog, Kathy’s Miracle, explaining that he fainted and knocked himself out as his head hit the floor. “I was so sad it was already goodbye. I realised there was nothing I could do. I think we always keep hope alive.”

The couple set up the blog last year after Mrs Taylor was diagnosed with a fast-spreading form of melanoma when she was 26-weeks pregnant with her sixth child. They used the blog to raise funds for the treatment and the family’s costs. The Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan was among those who contributed to the Kathy’s Miracle Fund after learning of her plight.

Mrs Taylor decided she would not receive cancer treatment in order to try and protect her unborn child. That child, Luke, was born on September 11, 14 weeks premature, and died two weeks later.

Shortly after the delivery, Mrs Taylor’s children and husband were brought in to say their final goodbyes to her. Doctors said she had only 24 to 36 hours to live.

As it was, Mrs Taylor made a something of a recovery and gained the strength to hold the new-born child. However his siblings never got the chance to meet him before he died. At the time, Mrs Taylor told Fox News she did not regret the decision to give up on the treatment but was sad her other children had been not been able to see Luke. “They never got a chance to see him in the hospital,” she said.

A report in at the time in Utah’s Standard-Examiner newspaper said that Mrs Taylor had been diagnosed seven years ago with early stage melanoma and underwent treatment.

“They recently discovered the cancer was back and not only was it back, it had spread,” said her mother, Patricia Mueller Tazelaar. “It is now in her spine and her liver is full of tumours. There’s so much going on that it’s just scary.”

In his post announcing his wife’s death, Mr Taylor said he had spent ten minutes with his wife’s’ body before taking his children to see her. He added: “I love you Kathy. I hope you know that. Woman of unwavering faith.”