A mum who was first diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 33 has lost her battle with the insidious disease and penned a final, tragic message to those who followed her journey.
Nicole Cooper, from Melbourne, left her last farewell on her Instagram page and said when it comes to ‘wrapping up’ her life, cancer was not the thing she wanted to ‘sign out on’.
Instead she wanted to spend her last moments focusing on the people she loved most, sharing her bed with her husband and son as they blissfully showered her with hugs and kisses.
Melbourne’s Nicole Cooper pictured with her husband and son, has died almost five years after she was diagnosed with stage-four cancer and given months to live
‘Cancer is not the thing ‘wrapping up’ this family,’ she said.
‘Because actually, the stuff that matters is the stuff that we have built together for each of us: the shared respect, joy, compelling and insightful commitment, and unwavering authenticity to the real nuts and bolts of being alive.’
‘It’s the fragility of this, the incomparable everythingness, the preparedness to take every risk for this group, to truly declare that living in my most scared and vulnerable and weak and wonderful was worth it all.’
‘Because I got to do it with all of you. That is the purpose of things. That is what I wrap up from.
Her final post was emotionally-charged and full of love for her family who are pictured here in her final days
Nicole was rushed to hospital on Boxing Day when she couldn’t breathe – after a nice, quiet Christmas with her family
Nicole was diagnosed with stage four cancer shortly after the birth of her son and fought the disease for close to five years, even going into remission for some time.
She spent her last years speaking up about cancer, treatments and the reality of life with a terminal diagnosis.
The mum posted pictures over Christmas, sending love and strength to her followers, before things took a dramatic turn.
On Boxing Day she posted a picture of her bed in ICU – where she was admitted with pneumonia.
‘Stage 4 cancer can be a low key Christmas with family one day, and a rapid decline into medical scary land the next. Each and every person is different and deserves to be recognised for their unique life and medical circumstances,’ she said.
‘I’ll get into the details later. I couldn’t breathe and now I can. I’m feeling on the improve and plan to keep going that way,’ she added.
On January 4 she posted a photo of her ‘oxygen friend’ a tank and reflected on a week of ICU craziness and terror-inducing moments.
‘But one of the benefits of a week of total disorientation is the option to then mindfully take a step in any direction and essentially be moving toward some version of forward,’ she said.
Nicole was open about her battle with cancer and is credited with inspiring hundreds of people through their treatment
That determination to get better prompted her followers to praise her for resilience and optimism.
But unfortunately things were to get worse and six days later she was writing her final post and spending time with her family who crowded into her room to say goodbye.
Her death left her community devastated.
‘I am not sure I will ever find the words. Or know how to express I’m words exactly how much of a loss this is to all of us. But I do know for as big as this loss is, we gained so so much by knowing Nicole and by everything she shared so intimately with us. A bunch of strangers,’ one man wrote.
‘She was the first person I came across when cancer became part of my life. I was and continue to be inspired by her. By her class, her strength, her knowledge and her love of a good Marg. Rest easy Nicole. You are and always will be an icon,’ he continued.
She remained positive and tried to live her life to the fullest despite everything going on in the background
AFL Wag Bec Judd also had kind words to share: ‘Oh Nic, The bravest, most inspiring person I know. I have your back and will love your family hard, forever, as I do you.’
‘I am so glad I got to meet you. Your strength is like no other. Rest peacefully knowing you’ve made a positive influence in the lives of everyone who knew you,’ wrote another woman influenced by Nicole.
Fellow patients were rocked by her passing: ‘Oh I’m so heartbroken to hear this, as I lay in a bed at the same hospital, with the same diagnosis. Nicole was such an advocate for us all, even when she was having a tough time. One of my first online cancer friends whom I was so grateful to meet in person. I could never repay her for all her advice and support that she gave me.’
Nicole previously spoke to FEMAIL about how exercise had helped her ‘beat’ cancer and go into remission months after her initial diagnosis.
She claimed a big reason behind why she was still alive was because of the exercise regime she followed while undergoing treatment.
Tributes flooded in for the ‘brave, inspiring’ mum following her final post on Tuesday
‘Being told you have terminal cancer when you also have an eight-month-old baby is one of the most harrowing experiences that a person could ever have,’ she said.
When she was undergoing rounds of treatments and surgeries for bowel, lung and liver cancer, Nicole hit the gym after specialists advised her to workout.
‘Suddenly I had an option that would allow me to potentially be there for my husband and be there for my baby boy,’ she said.
‘A year later, I am in remission, having taken just as much exercise as I have chemotherapy.’
Australia’s leading cancer organisations are now calling for exercise to be prescribed to all cancer patients.
In a world first, the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia launched its position statement on the essential role of exercise in cancer care.
Professor Prue Cormie from the Australian Catholic University said the link between cancer and exercise are based on ‘indisputable’ evidence.
Nicole Cooper, from Melbourne, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in March 2017 shortly after giving birth to her baby son (pictured together)
Following her shock diagnosis, the then 33-year-old said she was prescribed two potentially life-saving cancer treatments – chemotherapy and exercise
‘Really we are at the stage where the science is telling us that withholding exercise from cancer patients can be harmful,’ Professor Cormie said.
‘Exercise is the best medicine someone with cancer can take in addition to their standard cancer treatments.
‘We know now that people who exercise regularly experience fewer and less severe treatment side-effects; cancer related fatigue, mental distress, quality of life.’
Professor Cormie added that patients also have a lower risk of their cancer coming back or dying from the disease.
David Speakman, chief medical officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, said all cancer patients will benefit from an exercise prescription.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk