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Young Auckland mother Kendal Buchanan has died following a terminal brain cancer diagnosis after battling breast cancer for two years.
Last week she was told she had two months to live.
Buchanan’s sister earlier told the Herald she “really wanted to fight” for her two children – Ezra, 8, and Koen, 5.
A young Auckland mother who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer after battling breast cancer for two years has died with her two children by her side on one of her favourite days of the year.
Kendal Buchanan, 34, was last week told she had two months tolive – but on Monday her family told the Herald they feared she only had a couple of days left in her. Today, she passed away in the morning.
“She died peacefully, so full of love by all the people she loved the most,” her older sister Candice Buchanan said.
Candice Buchanan earlier said her sister’s journey started when they were both contacted by a female cousin in 2022, informing them she had tested positive for a mutated BRCA2 gene.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are found in everyone and are normally expressed in cells of the breasts and other tissue, where they help repair damaged DNA. But they can mutate and increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
Kendal Buchanan with her two children, 8-year-old Ezra and 5-year-old Koen.
Cancer was found in Kendal’s breast and after a two-year period fighting the disease, she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer earlier this year, having suffered a seizure at work.
Her family thought it was uncanny for Kendal - who had a love for skulls, coffins and death - to die around Halloween and described her death on the morning of the celebration as “in true Kendal style”.
She had hoped to celebrate Halloween with her two young children - Ezra, 8, and Koen, 5 - one last time, and had their costumes ready for tonight.
“Unfortunately cancer has taken that from her, along with so much more, but her home is now perfectly decorated for her farewell ... Kendal will return to her family home under all the Halloween decorations that she put up herself,” Candice Buchanan said.
Kendal’s daughter Ezra farewelled her by saying; “I will love you for all the days”, a quote the two of them shared since Ezra started talking.
Kendal Buchanan had hoped to celebrate Halloween with her two young children one last time, and had their costumes ready for tonight.
Her mother, Barbara, said she wanted her to know “I’m now a proud, proud mother of an angel”.
Her cousins found peace that she was no longer in pain and said she fought “right until the end”.
“We are going to miss her so much. It’s been such a cruel thing to happen to such a beautiful person. She will live on through Ezra and Koen and we will make sure they know how loved they are which is exactly what she wanted,” they said.
Candice Buchanan earlier said Kendal, who turned 34 at the beginning of October, had been “amazing” through her two-year journey and “really wanted to fight for her kids”.
“She told her son and daughter, ‘I’m fighting so hard for you and Mummy is not going to give up ... I’m going to do everything I can to fight this’.”
Her children were now “safe and loved” in the arms of their father Bob, who is described as being “their absolute rock and security”.
“We have no doubt he will give them the best life, filled with memories of Kendal and her love for them,” Candice Buchanan said.
Kendal Buchanan's sister said she "really wanted to fight for her kids”.
Tributes flowed from her best friend Sian, who called her “irreplaceable”, and her work colleagues at Auckland preschool BestStart Tironui Road, where she worked as a cook for seven years.
A Givealittle fundraiser set up for Kendal and her children’s day-to-day expenses - which said the BRCA2 gene had “cursed” the family - had raised over $7000 in three days.
Candice Buchanan thanked everyone for their “very kind, thoughtful and generous” donations to the family, saying it was a little bit of light in such a dark situation.
“It makes our hearts so happy her children have a little bit of money in their mum’s memory. It meant so much to her to leave some money behind for them, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
She thanked staff at Totara Hospice for their “kind and compassionate care” during her stay over the last week.
“They went above and beyond to look after our girl so so well.”
‘Very hard’ journey with breast and brain cancer
Candice Buchanan earlier said the past two years had been “very hard” for the family after her sister was diagnosed with a BRCA2 gene mutation.
“She went and had an MRI and that’s when they found the cancer in her breast,” she said.
“She wasn’t taking any chances, she had a mastectomy and of course she was so devastated by that because she had a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old at the time.”
Many women who test positive for the gene mutation opt to remove their breasts, which reduces the risk of developing cancer by 95%.
“She did everything that she could. She had radiation, chemotherapy,” Buchanan said.
Cancer was found in a couple of her lymph nodes on her right side, which were subsequently removed.
Candice said Kendal was cleared after that, until the beginning of 2024 when she had a big seizure at work.
“She had been having migraines for a long time so she went and saw her GP ... That’s when she was diagnosed with brain cancer.”
Kendal Buchanan was diagnosed with brain cancer after a seizure at work at the beginning of this year. She had been suffering migraines for some time.
An encapsulated tumour was found, which she had surgery to remove before having radiation therapy on her brain.
“A few weeks ago she was feeling really rubbish and she thought it was just from the radiation, so they did a scan and saw the cancer was just all over her brain,” Candice said.
She said the cancer was over the meninges – the layers of membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Kendal went to the specialist last Monday, where she was told she had two months to live.
“But it’s been one week and she’s definitely going to die in the next couple of days. She’s deteriorated a lot,” Candice told the Herald on Monday.
At the beginning of this year, Kendal took to social media reflecting on the past 12 months, saying; “I did go through a lot.
“From operations, procedures, infections, hematoma, chemo, radiation, skin change, body change (inside and out), lack of energy levels, bone density infusion, menopause and I couldn’t count the hospital visits I’ve been to – all while raising two beautiful tiny humans,” the post read.
“So this year I’m not surviving. This year’s about living.”
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
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