TRIBUTES have been paid to former Fox commentator and doctor Kelly Powers, who has died at the age of just 45 after a battle with cancer.
In 2020, the mom was first diagnosed with glioblastoma, an uncommon type of brain cancer. Despite the challenges, she fought the disease during her pregnancy and successfully gave birth to her now 3-year-old son, Bennett.
Powers underwent three surgeries along with chemotherapy and radiation and was able to push her cancer into remission.
Unfortunately, the cancer resurfaced earlier this year. In response, a group of friends organized a fundraising effort that generated nearly $100,000. The funds were crucial for covering the costs of an experimental treatment that her health insurance did not include.
After traditional treatments failed, she planned to travel to Germany for a groundbreaking and innovative treatment.
Hailing from Yonkers, New York, Powers pursued her education at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. She furthered her training at the Boston University School of Medicine and went on to establish herself as a prosperous surgeon.
She later became a regular Fox commentator, appearing on the network’s Red Eye talk show as well as in segments on Fox Business about the health risks facing Americans.
In 2015, she appeared on Fox News to talk about the health effects of daylight savings time.
Powers described how she first realized something was badly wrong while hosting a segment about heart health.
She started suffering from chest pains and shortness of breath live on Fox and struggled through the rest of the segment.
“It’s crazy – I went into heart failure while doing a report on Fox Business – live – on heart health and talking about the subtle signs that women often miss,” she said in an interview with Preferred Health magazine after her diagnosis.
“You can’t make this up.”
In the same interview, she said she was trying “to keep staying positive” in the face of her diagnosis.
“I’m truly thankful to be the ‘Luckiest Unlucky Girl,'” she said.
In May 2020, Powers told Fox Nation about how she was misdiagnosed at first with a hidden heart condition.
Powers lived with Bennett and her husband Steven in the town of Colts Neck, New Jersey.
WHAT IS GLIOBLASTOMA?
FORMER Fox commentator Dr. Kelly Powers has died of glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.
- Glioblastoma (GBM), also known as grade IV astrocytoma, is an aggressive, fast-growing brain tumor.
- It invades nearby brain tissue but generally doesn’t spread to other organs.
- It can result in death in less than six months if untreated.
- GBM presents specific challenges that make it harder to treat.
- These include the localization of tumors in the brain, inherent resistance to conventional therapy, and limited capacity of the brain to repair itself.
Throughout her treatment, Powers kept her sense of humor about her situation.
In one Instagram post, which included a picture of her surgery scars on the back of her head, she joked, “You should have seen the other guy!”
She cracked a joke in another post that she had “the same haircut” as her son, and she shared a picture of herself with short hair following chemotherapy while holding her young child.
Her obituary describes her as “a brave and beautiful soul who could make friends anywhere she went.”
It describes her love for her family, as well as her many hobbies, including “gardening, surfing, ballet, biking, running, horseback riding, and travel.”
Her family has asked that well-wishers plant trees in tribute to her.
