Tributes and tears flowed in Orange this week as family and friends of cancer sufferer and mother of two Francine Sammut learned of her death.
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Mrs Sammut, died in Orange on Wednesday, aged 49, about nine years after she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.
Hundreds of people took to her Facebook page, Francine's Fight - Support Team Sammut, to offer their condolences to husband Brett and their two daughters, Emily and Tegan.
Mr Sammut posted his thanks to people for their support.
“It saddens me to inform everyone that our brave little fighter has lost her battle with her hitch-hikers and she peacefully passed away during the early hours this morning,” he said.
“I want to thank everyone who visited, contacted, said prayers or simply had her in their thoughts. You don’t know how much this meant to us.”
Francine has requested that everyone wear a splash of colour to the service.
- Brett Sammut
By Thursday afternoon about 500 people had left posts on the site with about 230 leaving comments expressing their grief and their support for the family.
It was also announced her funeral service would be held at the Holy Trinity Anglican church in Byng Street on Monday November 5 at 10.30am.
Mr Sammut posted that the service would be followed by a wake at Waratah Sports Club from noon.
“Francine has requested that everyone wear a splash of colour to the service. We would love to see everyone there,” he said.
A separate Facebook site, Francine’s Funeral Service, has been set up for people to indicate their attendance.
Mrs Sammut has maintained a high-profile approach to her battle with cancer keeping people informed on her Facebook site of her condition and involving herself in fundraising and events to raise awareness of the disease.
The Orange community also raised money for her treatment.
In 2012 she told the Central Western Daily of her shock at being diagnosed with cancer in 2009.
“It turns your world upside down. At first you focus on the fact you’ve got cancer and how you can deal with it,” she said.
READ MORE: Brett’s emotional journey
However, there was worse news in 2012.
An ultrasound revealed two lumps in her chest that were diagnosed as metastatic breast cancer.
“They decided not to remove it. It’s basically classed a terminal cancer,” she said.
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David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
