
Holly Butcher was the picture of health.
The 27-year-old from Grafton, NSW ate all the right foods, hardly drank alcohol and exercised regularly. But that's the thing about cancer, it doesn't discriminate.
On October 31, 2016, her world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer that affects the bones.
Less than 1.5 years later, in the early hours of January 4, 2018, Holly died, surrounded by her loved ones. But it's her poignant open letter, written before her death, that captured the hearts of people around the world.
Cancer forced Holly to face her mortality. She grieved for all the milestones she’d never experience, the kids she’d never get to have, and the future she’d never get to build with the love of her life.
She spent hours reflecting on her life and what really matters in the grand scheme of things. Then, Holly penned an open letter to all of us, which her family shared on her Facebook page after she died. We can't stop thinking about it, even seven years on.
If you read one thing this week, make sure it’s this.
“It’s a strange thing to realise and accept your mortality at 26 years young. It’s just one of those things you ignore. The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming, until the unexpected happens,” Holly began.
"I’m 27 now. I don’t want to go. I love my life. I am happy... I owe that to my loved ones. But the control is out of my hands." Image: Facebook/HollyButcher.