Kaley Williamson spent more than year battling the cancer that would eventually take her life on June 7.

The 23-year-old Orléans resident was diagnosed with cervical cancer on March 17,
2025. She underwent six sessions of chemotherapy (approximately 50 days in hospital total) with side effects of a persistent fever that was hard to manage. She also went through countless MRIs, CT scans, PETscans, blood work, X-rays, ultrasounds etc., 25 sessions of radiation and three brachytherapy treatments.

In December, she started experiencing extreme leg and back pain. A CT scan would reveal that the cancer had spread to her right pelvis and left ovary which put pressure on her left ureter and causing her kidney to swell. Surgery was not an option.

She began additional chemo and immuno-therapy treatments in early January, but by then the prognosis was terminal.

The treatments managed to prolong her life until she succumbed to the disease earlier this month.

During Kaley’s battle with cancer and seemingly never-ending treatments, her father, Kevin Williamson, had to be laid off from his construction job to care for her.

In order to help meet their financial needs, a friend of the family set up a GoFundMe campaign which raised more than $57,000.

Before she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, Kaley was a vibrant young women who loved her family and friends dearly.

As a teenager, she discovered cheerleading and was a member of the Black Widow Cheer Gym.

Despite her struggle, Kaley never felt sorry for herself and she would often tell her family and friends, ‘Don’t worry I got this.”

In order to honour Kaley’s passing and celebrate her life, Kevin and Kaley’s mother Josée want to continue their daughter’s journey by getting the word out to young women to know their bodies.

“It is very important to Kaley, myself and all her family and friends, to spread her message to all young women out there,” says Kevin. “Doctors can be quick to tell young women ‘it’s fine’ and downplay their concerns, but you need to know your body and trust your instincts. Ask. Seek answers. Be persistent.”

According to Kevin, Kaley had the HPV vaccine in high school and she also had a Pap smear done when she 22 which turned out negative.

Months later, she thought she had a yeast infection and was prescribed antibiotics.

After two weeks of no improvement, she went to the hospital where the doctors found a 7.2 cm tumor in her cervix. That was on March 15, 2025. She was 22. Fourteen months later she was gone.

But rather than become just another cancer statistic, Kaley wanted to use her experience to help others. Her father Kevin also detailed her milestones on his Facebook page so people could follow her journey and see how brave she was.

Despite being in tremendous pain, she made her father drive her to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto where the hospital’s research team wanted to do a biopsy of her cancer along with some blood work in order to study it and potentially save young women in the future.

That’s the type of young woman Kaley was in both life and in death.

And while Kaley’s parents struggle with her passing and their hearts are broken, their mission is to keep the promise they made to spread her message to other women, and men – Know YOUR Body.