Fatima Ali, a fan-favorite on Bravo’s Top Chef, passed away Friday after a battle with cancer. She was 29.
Fatima had a cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma which attacks the bones. The SurvivorNet team met Fatima a while back when she was undergoing chemo. We wanted to talk about a series of videos on cooking for people with cancer. A couple months ago, via Instagram, Fatima said her sarcoma had gotten a lot worse, and that she really wanted to live out her dreams even as her disease progressed. She wrote in an essay a few months back that after learning her prognosis, she wanted to spend the rest of her days exploring the best foods the world has to offer.
Read More She's updated all of us on her condition earlier this month, to say what she needed more than anything else. "Right now all I need are prayers; prayers that are simple.” The SurvivorNet community knows that
faith and prayers can be important as cancer worsens, and that Fatima is part of a large group of people who turn toward prayer during these difficult times. Ewing's Sarcoma is a rare type of cancerous tumor of the bones, or the soft tissue around the bones. Most often, Ewing's Sarcoma begins in the the pelvis, leg or arms — but it can begin in any bone or, in some cases, in the tissues of the arms, legs, abdomen and other locations. The disease usually occurs in children and young adults, affecting only about 200 people each year. Ali's post a few months ago read, "I am desperate to overload my senses in the coming months." Her post inspired her fellow
Top Chef stars and fans to contribute to "Team Fati," a GoFundMe page that has raised $96,000 for her adventures and for the Sarcoma Foundation of America. In her update, Ali wrote about her feelings of gratitude, "Thank you a million times over for when you have given me joy."
Today, we celebrate Fatima’s life, her energy, and her amazing attitude.
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