A Saanich single mother who hung her hopes of survival on a last-chance cancer drug after years of being misdiagnosed has died.
Julia Wolf, 30, leaves behind her five-year-old son Lucas and countless loved ones who rallied behind her as she was told she had just weeks to live.
Wolf passed away in Royal Jubilee Hospital just after 7 a.m. Monday, with two of her closest friends by her bedside.
Elisha Morrison, who has known Wolf since they were 18, said the doctors made sure Wolf wasn’t suffering in her final hours.
“She passed quickly,” Morrison said. “She tried to take a breath and it was like her lungs didn't have it any more.”
Lucas was able to say goodbye to his mother on Friday. He’s now in the care of Wolf’s pastor, Chris Synesael and his wife Kellee. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised to support Lucas as he grows up without his mom.
Wolf was 18 when she first went to a doctor about a birthmark on her ankle that had become raised and itchy. Even though she matched her symptoms to a skin-cancer poster on the wall, the doctor told her she was too young to get skin cancer. A series of doctors over the years dismissed Wolf’s concerns as the bump got bigger.
It wasn’t until she was pregnant with Lucas that she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma.
Despite chemotherapy and rounds of treatment, the cancer spread to her lungs, her liver, around her kidneys and in her bones, leaving Wolf weak and in constant pain.
In May, Wolf went to Toronto to take part in trials for a new immunotherapy drug but after an initial consultation, she was sent home without the treatment. Her doctor lobbied the pharmaceutical company and finally got the experimental drug shipped from England a week and a half ago. It wasn’t enough to shrink the tumours.
Morrison said Wolf’s years-long cancer battle has always been for Lucas, to give him more time and memories with his mom.
“Everything she did was for Lucas,” she said, “It wasn't for her. It was to be around longer for him so that he knew that she loved him and she fought for him.”
Despite her illness, Wolf always went out of her way to make sure the holidays were special for Lucas, especially Christmas, Halloween and Easter.
“She always made sure the big holidays were over the top so he would remember them,” Morrison said. “She did big dinners and presents.”
Halloween was often spent running through the pumpkin patch and corn maze at Galey Farms. The two also loved to visit the petting zoo at Beacon Hill park.
This past Easter was “a huge event” with several Easter egg hunts, egg decorating and lots of sweets, Morrison said.
That memory was one of the last things on Wolf’s mind as she whispered her last words from her hospital bed.
She told her pastor “she loves [Lucas] and to remember he likes to paint Easter eggs, and that was pretty much the last verbal conversation she had,” Morrison recalls.
Morrison and Wolf’s family and friends are planning a private funeral. In lieu of flowers, Wolf asked for donations to the Save Your Skin foundation, a non-profit group that raises money for research and awareness about melanoma. (www.saveyourskin.ca.)
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Katie DeRosa is one of the media riders for this year’s Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock, a 13-day bike ride from Port Alice to Victoria. Follow DeRosa's blog for details about the ongoing training, leading up to full coverage of the ride Sept. 20 to Oct. 3. To donate to her fundraising campaign, click here.
