Fifteen months
Diane died on April 8, 2016 of lung cancer that had metastisized to her liver and her brain. There are many remarkable moments found in the last fifteen months of her life. Diagnosing her correctly was a challenge in the fall of 2014 - initially her symptoms presented as a strange kind of stroke, and it took a talented neurosurgeon to realize they needed to look beyond the brain to explain her symptoms. She received a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer in mid-November 2014 and given her advanced symptoms was told she had weeks to live. Everyone was stunned given that Diane never smoked, had no symptoms prior to her headaches and took impeccable care of herself. Her particular cancer type, though, had a cell marker that made her eligible for a new type of chemotherapeutic. This treatment, along with a shunt that relieved the pressure on her brain, allowed Diane to recover most of her cognitive capacity. She recovered enough to travel to the east coast, both in the spring and for Christmas at Vicki's house. And she and Harry had even more adventures on the Oregon coast and she even got back to the gym. Cancer cells eventually learn to evade chemotherapeutics, and in late 2015 it was clear that Diane's cancer had returned. During these last months, so many friends, acquaintances and talented caregivers helped Harry as he cared for Diane at their home. In the early morning of Friday, April 8 after a long struggle, Diane died at Virginia Mason in Seattle with Harry and her dear friend Martha Fox by her side.