An Upper Arlington High School senior and childhood cancer advocate who published a book about her experiences with cancer died late last month amid her tenth battle.
Alea Ramsey, 18, died in her battle with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer, on Sunday, Jan. 28, according to her obituary . Family and members of the pediatric cancer community are remembering her as a champion for increased funding for childhood cancer and as a fierce advocate for those currently battling it.
In all, she battled cancer 10 times before her death in January.
Last year, Ramsey published her book, “When Life Gives You Cancer” amid her eighth diagnosis, which she told The Dispatch last summer she hoped to be a “dummy’s guide” for teenagers battling cancer. She also ran a nonprofit organization, Bearing Hope, and advocated for expanded childhood cancer research funding.
“I don’t want you to have to experience it to understand — that’s what I’m hoping the book will show — that there’s a lot more to this than smiling kids on the commercial asking for money,” she told The Dispatch last year. “You could be on that (hospital) floor right now, I have a feeling none of those kids are smiling.”