Elizabeth Graca, known as Betsy, fought cancer with a rare combination of grace and pluck, finding humor even in the darkest places.
For example: turning the custom-made, head-immobilizing facemask used in her radiation sessions into a work of art. To celebrate completing her treatment, Graca vanquished the torturous device by sawing it, smashing it and setting it afire.
Then she posted a video of the destruction on Twitter, where she'd become something of a digital-era memoirist.
After Graca died on Feb. 28 at age 36, her obituary noted that she considered the outcome of her battle a draw, as a favorite comedian had once joked. Yes, cancer killed Graca; but the cancer died, too — that wasn't a loss, but a tie.
Graca, a graduate of Burnsville High School and the University of Minnesota, was a 34-year-old copywriter and social butterfly enjoying life in Minneapolis when she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer.
The disease had already spread to her brain, liver and bones — a stage at which life expectancy is usually measured in months. But Graca bravely underwent aggressive treatment for nearly three years.
"She wasn't given a lot of cause for hope, or a better life down the road, but I think she saw purpose in fighting until her last breath because there was meaning and purpose in that struggle," said her close friend Ian Ringgenberg.
Navigating the challenges of the medical system, Graca became a knowledgeable, strong-willed self-advocate. The diagnosis revealed her as a real warrior, said her brother Andrew Graca. "I never thought of her as a resilient badass until she got sick," he said. "Then we learned, oh, my God, my sister is really tough."
