Kellie Finlayson Reveals Plans for Life Celebration, Not Traditional Funeral
Kellie Finlayson, an author and influencer living with terminal stage four bowel cancer, has shared her unique wishes for when she passes. Instead of a traditional funeral, Finlayson desires a celebration of her life, emphasizing remembrance over mourning. She has been battling the disease for five years and has meticulously organized her affairs, clearly communicating her wishes to loved ones.
“I’ve got everything in place and I don’t want a funeral,” Finlayson stated in a recent interview. “It’s one thing that I do not want and if that happens, I’ll haunt everyone,” she added with a laugh. “So spread my ashes somewhere or whatever, but I don’t want a funeral and I’ve definitely made that known to anyone that needs to know it. Obviously, I’ve got things in place financially – everything’s got to go to where it’s got to go and I’ve done that myself. If I can have control of one thing, it’s going to be that.”
A Dedicated Advocate for Bowel Cancer Awareness
Finlayson, the wife of former Port Adelaide player Jeremy Finlayson, has become a prominent voice in Australia for bowel cancer awareness since her diagnosis shortly after the birth of her daughter, Sophia, in 2021. Now 30, she has surpassed her original prognosis by approximately three years and continues to undergo intensive treatment. This includes chemotherapy every three weeks and daily medication. Earlier this month, she underwent another lung resection due to the cancer spreading to her lungs in late 2022.
Following her recent surgery, Finlayson updated supporters on social media. “Thank you so, so, so much to everyone that has checked in,” she wrote. “Surgery went well, will talk about it more when I can keep my eyes open.”
Daughter Sophia: A Driving Force for Hope
Despite the ongoing medical challenges, Finlayson identified her daughter Sophia as the primary reason for her unwavering determination to fight. “I would never tell her, not until she’s older at least, but she’s definitely been the reason that I’ve made it this far,” she explained. “You can’t exactly say no to this perfect little human being saying, ‘Mummy, I want to play.’ So she got me out of bed on days that I definitely didn’t want to get out of bed.”
Navigating Treatment and Seeking Second Opinions
Finlayson now considers herself fortunate as her treatment continues to be effective. “I’m pretty good at it,” she commented on her experience with chemotherapy, “Which is a weird thing to say, but I guess lucky that treatment works for me. So I have three-weekly infusions and then I have chemo tablets daily, morning and night.”
She also revealed that she disregarded the advice of her first oncologist after a relapse in early 2023, believing a different approach was crucial for her continued life. “And if I had listened to my first oncologist, literally, if I’d listened to everything he’d said, I’d be dead by now, which is crazy,” she said. “I would have been in palliative care like three years ago.” This led her to seek a second opinion, and subsequently marry Jeremy in a private ceremony after their initial wedding plans were altered by the cancer’s progression.
Personal Losses and a Focus on Living
The couple has also faced the emotional toll of seven unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers in their efforts to give Sophia a sibling. “We actually had seven failed transfers, so it was a really tough 16 months,” Finlayson shared. “Obviously things didn’t work, but that’s fine… it ended up costing me more mentally than it was worth.”
Finlayson consciously separates conversations about her illness from her home life. “Home is not the hospital and hospital is where those conversations happen and home is where it’s just us living,” she stated. She prefers the term “living list” over “bucket list,” humorously remarking, “That’s because I don’t want to kick the bucket.”
Inspiring Others and Embracing Life
Her current focus is on leveraging her experiences to encourage younger Australians to prioritize their health and seek medical advice when something feels amiss. “But I’ve got so many things in the works,” she said. “I just want to be in front of rooms of people that haven’t heard me speak before so that they take themselves a little bit more seriously and that’s kind of the aim this year.”
While acknowledging the presence of difficult days, Finlayson remains resolute in making the most of her time. “I say I’m one of the lucky ones because treatment works for me,” she concluded. “I am genuinely one of the lucky ones.”
