A 25-year-old woman who had been healthy and active suddenly developed bile duct cancer and has left a final, touching message before her death, urging people to appreciate the little things in life.
Daniella Thackray’s funeral took place on Monday, March 18, according to her fiancé, Tom Calvert, who shared the news with TODAY.com.
Her last letter, shared by her family on LinkedIn and Facebook on February 23 upon her passing, has garnered thousands of reactions and comments from people worldwide.
“I LOVED my life. Everything I had achieved was what I wanted. I loved my job, my fiancé, my family, my friends and my dog, and the house we were going to buy and the future we were making for ourselves,” Thackray wrote.
“I chose not to mourn the life I was losing despite being so devastated, but to instead enjoy every moment I had left.”
She worked as a people administrator for an advertising agency in Leeds, England, describing herself as “very healthy and active” until she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer that forms in the bile ducts, in July 2023.
Even though her life was never the same again, she wrote, she chose to focus on everyone and everything she loved.
“We can’t control what happens to us, (but) we can control how we react,” Thackray added.
“You should enjoy the little things in life and cherish every moment! Romanticise your life! Do whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone take the joy of life away from you.”
She ended the letter with a message to her fiancé: “Go enjoy your life now, you deserve it.”
The 25-year-old was described as the most enthusiastic and cheerful person by Liz Reynolds, her manager at 26 Agency, when announcing her passing. The company is raising funds for St Gemma’s hospice in Leeds in her memory.
Bile duct cancer symptoms
Thackray referred to cholangiocarcinoma as a “horrid cruel disease” that was not caused by anything within her control and just happened.
It is a rare and aggressive cancer that spreads quickly and is usually metastasized by the time of diagnosis, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Experts are unsure of the causes, but risk factors include having bile duct stones, cirrhosis of the liver, or inflammatory bowel disease.
Around 8,000 people are diagnosed with bile duct cancer each year in the U.S.
It originates in small tubes that carry bile—a fluid that aids in digesting fats—inside and outside the liver, as noted by the National Cancer Institute.
Symptoms include:
Treatment is challenging due to the advanced stage of the cancer when it is typically discovered. Options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and a liver transplant, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The five-year survival rate for bile duct cancer that has spread to distant parts of the body is 2% to 3%, as noted by the American Cancer Society.
“I really really do hope that in the years to come more research is done about this horrid cruel disease so that more lives can be saved,” Thackray wrote in her final message.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
