CalGal (Julie)

An announcement from a rep on behalf of the family: 

After a 4 year battle with breast cancer, I am sorry to relate that Julie Ann (Cook) Carpenter died on Friday, February 20, 2009 in her Los Angeles home, peacefully and surrounded by family.  Her courage and grace during that battle were an inspiration to all who knew her.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church, 5750 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles, California.  A reception will follow.  (Parking is often restricted on the side streets in the Miracle Mile area, so please be careful.)

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Julie Ann Carpenter Memorial Fund, created to honor her memory and assist women who are searching for new treatment options.  For more information, please visit www.JulieAnnCarpenter.org or call (213) 399-2161.

Born in San Francisco in August, 1962 to Roy Cook and the late Ann Cook, Julie grew up in Saratoga, California.  She graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a Bachelors Degree, and from the University of Southern California with a Master of Arts in Urban Planning.  She worked for the County of Los Angeles for over twenty years, mostly with the Department of Beaches and Harbors.  She also served as President of the Miracle Mile Residential Association from 1999 to 2001.

 

She is survived by her husband, Tristram; her father Roy and her stepmother Ana of Saratoga; her brother Greg and sister-in-law Jean, and their children Landon and Gemma, of Oakland.  She will always be loved and remembered by her family, and will be greatly missed.  She will be buried in Saratoga, California with a memorial service in Los Angeles on March 7.

She was a determined breast cancer advocate, researching and promoting the latest medical information on the most advanced treatments available to breast cancer patients and networking with many physicians and patients through multiple breast cancer organizations and forums.  She participated in the UCLA metastatic cancer support group, November 2006 Metastatic Breast Cancer Network Conference, May 2007 Revlon Run/Walk, June 2007 AWOL retreat as well as many other organizations and events.

Julie was a fierce fighter and she will be greatly missed.  Fond memories of her will always be with us.

With deepest sorrow,

Dikla

Dikla Benzeevi

Breast Cancer Patient Advocate

Los Angeles, CA

818-970-9446

Bunnysmama Senior Member Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Location: Newburyport, MA Online Status: Offline Posts: 224	Posted: 20 Feb 2009 at 10:28pm
	Thank you for sharing the news, although I wish this didn't have to be.  She was a fighter and a beautiful person.  She was also young and should have had so much more life to live.  My heart breaks for her and her family.  May she rest in peace.
	Dx 11/06 @ age 37 IDC Stage I, Grade 3 BRCA2+
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CalGal Senior Member Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 159	Posted: 20 Feb 2009 at 11:55pm
	[This is CalGal's husband] Hello all, Thanks, everyone, for your prayers and thoughts for Julie.  She'd be proud and honored to know she helped so many of you fight this terrible disease. There will be a service on Friday, February 27 in Saratoga, California.  Julie grew up there and will be buried next to her beloved Mom, whose life was also cut short by breast cancer. There will also be a service in Los Angeles, probably the following weekend.  I'll post some details when it's more finalized. For those of you who may want to attend the Saratoga service, please email or PM me and I'll give you details. Pictures tell the story better.  Here's one of me and my Angel:
	BRCA1 9/04 Bi-lat lump, clear SNB 38x Rad'tn 12/05 Recurr bc & mets to liver 06 the year of chemo NED for 13 mos until 7/07 Lung met. PARP trial until ... 2/08 Liver mets again
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Nancy Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Location: Altoona, PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 3047	Posted: 21 Feb 2009 at 12:14am
	Dear  Tris,   I am siiting here crying as I type....and I cannot express what I am feeling to you. Julie was always so sweet and kind to everyone here on the site....and I know she was that way to all who knew and loved her.   She will be greatly missed....but never forgotten. We will speak of her often, and will tell the new women of her fight with this disease. Thank you so very much for writing to us....and may you now find peace knowing that she does not have to fight any longer. She is at peace.   Much love to you and her family Nancy....Lori's mom
	Nancy DD Lori dx TNBC June 13,2007 Lumpectomy due to incorrect dx of a cyst mastectomy July 6 2007 chemo ACT all 3 every 3 weeks 6 tx Aug-Nov 28 rads ended Jan 2008
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josie33 Groupie Joined: 30 Jan 2009 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 81	Posted: 21 Feb 2009 at 1:46pm
	Please accept my deepest condolences on the passing of your extraordinarily brave wife, whom I never met but feel I knew in a small but profound way through reading her posts on this forum.  Although i know her loss is painful and incomprehensible, I hope you take some solace in the fact that she is no longer suffering.  My prayers and best wishes to you and your family.  As Nancy said, she will not be forgotten.  Josie (sister of Lisa, DX'd with TNBC in Nov.2008)
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krisa Senior Member Joined: 21 May 2008 Location: Portland, OR Online Status: Offline Posts: 649	Posted: 21 Feb 2009 at 3:16pm
	Thank you so much for sharing that beautiful picture and for keeping us informed. Sending prayers to you and your family.
	lump12-07 chemo Jan-May AC/T DD 30 Rads 2.2 cm, n/node, grade 3, stage 2 Diagnosed granulosa ovarian cancer 2/09 "May the lord...give you His peace no matter what happens." II Thessalonians 3:16 N
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Barb-42 Groupie Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Location: Ohio Online Status: Offline Posts: 50	Posted: 21 Feb 2009 at 10:43pm
	I am very sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you and your family. Barb
	dx-1/2/08 @ 42 years old lumpectomy w/clean margins/ 1/14/08- no nodes/stage 1/gr.3 1.5 CM IDC chemo(AC-3 every 2 weeks) (Taxol weekly 12) 2/21/08-7/17/08 Rads-33 (including 8 boost)8/6/08-9/22/08
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billie Senior Member Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 311	Posted: 21 Feb 2009 at 10:54pm
	I sit here trying to type through eyes filled with tears,and a heart that is weighing so heavy with sorrow that it fills as if it could at any moment break into.               Billie for my beautiful sister Betty
	Billie posting for sis Betty/67/caucasion female/diagnosed 2-27-08/stg3/7mm/invasive ductal carcinoma/trip neg/clear margins/node neg/4 X's taxotere-cytoxan/36 rads/7-08 PET/CT double image/no cancer
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BrendaF Senior Member Joined: 07 Dec 2007 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 352	Posted: 22 Feb 2009 at 9:03am
	Tris, I am so sorry.  I have been worried since our Julie had such a hard time at the holidays - then disappeared from the boards.  I dreamed of her over and over last night.   She was in such a quandary last fall over whether or not to take the trip to Ireland.  I hope you both were glad that you went and that you don't have any regrets.
	Dx 2005 2 cm, 5/12 nodes, A/C + T, 28 rads. Dx mets 12/07 mediastinal and supraclavicular nodes, carbo + taxotere X 6. hilar node progression Nov 08. 1 brain met, G/K 1/09, bone mets 4/09 rads
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Kathleen Groupie Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Location: Eden Prairie, MN Online Status: Offline Posts: 47	Posted: 23 Feb 2009 at 1:33am
	To CalGal's family, I too am very sad to hear of your loss.  She was and will continue to be an inspiration to many on this site.  I will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers. Kathleen
	Yours Online, Kathleen 12/99 bc initial dx-stage 1, Nottingham-tenovus cells - bilateral mast. 6/08 TN cells, only in lungs Treatments: 6/08-5/09 Taxol & Carboplatin. 5/09+ Xeloda.
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Wendy2 Senior Member Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 177	Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 8:42am
	CalGal's family;   I haven't been on here in a week or so. I am so very sad to hear this news and shocked. She and I connected too, as she did with many of us. Thank you for sharing her with us and for sending us a beautiful photo. Thought and prayers are with you.   Very sincerely, Wendy
	dx 3/06 TN, taxotere/cytoxin x4; radiation x 40; mets. to lungs, lymph nodes 3/08 - to begin chemo 4/29/08 Abx/Avas., 9/08 Avastin maintenance, 1/09 - off meds to see if Avastin causing headaches

Dear all,

I first met Julie on a BRCA message board several years ago. I made a suggestion to her in a post and gave her my email and we corresponded off the board and then about six months later I met her about an hour before a support dinner we were both going to. We walked around Westwood and I can still vividly remember what we talked about and the very strong impression she left on me that is still in my heart.

She was a marvelous, caring woman. Very bright and very committed to helping others despite her own agonizing battle. I met her husband, Tris, at dinner that night. A lovely man.

Going to her funeral some months ago was a profoundly sad experience for me but it was very uplifting as well. Different women spoke so beautifully about who Julie was, the work she did and the work that remains to be done. She is part of the reason I am an advocate and I want to thank her for that.

Rest in peace, dear Julie.

with fond memories and deep respect for what she did for others.

Steve