8 September 2008

Dear Family,

I (Kristie Nelson) regret to notify you that my mother, Louise Anne Holland Bettencourt, passed away this past Tuesday morning, September 2. Mom who had battled and beaten breast cancer back in 1985 was not able to beat it this time around. Back in November of 2007 the cancer was back again. By February, the doctors believed that it had been driven away. However, early this spring it became apparent that she was tired easily and did not enjoy food. We still believed that she would beat it, so she underwent clinical trials at Stanford Medical Center at Stanford University here in California. After two bouts of chemotherapy which left my mother feeling drained, the doctors wanted to switch treatment methods. She underwent testing for a new trial.

She was set to begin her new treatment this past Thursday, September 3, and had been staying in a hotel room August 27 when she was rushed to the emergency room at Stanford for a neurological crisis. The neurologists performed a complex emergency surgery near her spinal cord to remove five tumors that were impeding her mobility. By Friday and Saturday the doctors seemed pleased with a successful surgery saying that her mobility was restored.

As Mom was recovering later that weekend, Dr. R. told Mom, Sam, and Cheryl (my sister) that she had end stage cancer and was dying. This was the first realization that the battle had been lost. Mom slowly began to slip away over the course of the next couple of days. The nurses monitored her to keep her relatively comfortable. Sunday was the last day that I was able to have a conversation with her. She passed early Tuesday morning before 7:00 a.m. pacific time. Sam and I were there at the end.

The priest had come Monday for prayers and again after she passed for her last rites. We said a rosary for her last night (Sunday). This morning she will have a funeral, private burial, and a reception. She will have over a hundred pink balloons at the reception and doves at her burial. Mom suffered so much, and now that suffering is at an end. Please pray for her that she may enter God’s presence.

This is a link to Mom’s obituary:   http://www.legacy.com/ModestoBee/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=116947192

Since Mom has battled breast cancer three times, we have asked that any donations in her honor go to:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure,

Central Valley Affiliate

5730 N. First Street, Ste. 105

Fresno, CA 93710

Also I ask that you take good care of yourselves by following a cancer preventative diet free from processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, preservatives, and hormones. Some good information can be found with these sources:

Guttersen, C. (2006). The Sonoma diet cookbook. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Books.

Roizen, M.F. & Oz, M.C. (2005). You the owner’s manual: An insider’s guide to the body that will make you healthier and younger. New York: Harper Resource.

Weil, A. (1998). Eight weeks to optimum health. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.  (I especially recommend this one.)

Sincerely,

Kristie Nelson

705 Creekview Ct.

Modesto, CA 95354

mysteryelle@yahoo.com