9NEWS anchor/reporter Kim Christiansen covers many issues and stories throughout the year. Probably best known for her spots on 9NEWS’ Buddy Check 9 campaign and breast cancer related stories, Christiansen knows the stats – one in seven women will develop breast cancer throughout her lifetime. And this year, more than 40,000 individuals will die from the disease. “I have met numerous women who have battled this disease. But never been close to someone who has died from it,” says Christiansen. That all changed in February when her friend, Jackie Blue Hayes, succumbed after an eight-year battle with breast cancer.
At forty-three Jackie had the perfect life – a loving husband, a beautiful marriage, two wonderful children, close friends, and a tight-knit extended family. The perfect life except for the cancer that was killing her. “She never felt sorry for herself and wasn’t going to let breast cancer beat her,” says Michael, Jackie’s husband of 17 years. Theirs was a true love story. “She had the ability to make you feel like there was no one else in the room or the world, but you,” says Michael. He continues, “She was the strongest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met in my whole life…I was just so lucky to have her.”
Determined to see her boys grow up and graduate high school, Jackie attacked the disease as relentlessly as it attacked her. She joined clinical trials and demanded every treatment possible, regardless of side effects. As the treatments and cancer stole her strength, they never stole her sense of humor or spirit. Her personality remained untouched and intact. “She never let her cancer define her. She lived with an abundance of love and taught her family and friends how to love and survive,” says Michael.
After death, Jackie continues to touch lives in incredible ways. Just ask Kim Christiansen. As a way to honor Jackie, Christiansen developed her own personal pledge page for this year’s Komen Denver Race for the Cure â , which is dedicated to Jackie. To learn more about the remarkable life of Jackie Blue Hayes, visit Kim Christiansen’s personal pledge page at http://www.raceforthecure-denver.com/ .