20-year-old University of Kentucky dancer dies from bone cancer
University of Kentucky dance team member Kate Kaufling has died. She was 20.
The university announced the sad news on April 1 in a statement posted on their website. Kaufling, who was a sophomore at the university, died on March 31, after a battle with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
Kaufling, a nursing student, and her twin sister, Abbey, joined the dance team in fall 2023.
“Kate was a joy to coach and to be around. Her smile could light up a room and she was beloved by all of her UKDT teammates,” said UK dance team head coach Dawn Walters. “We are all saddened by Kate’s passing. We will remember her for the tough battle she fought with osteosarcoma over the past year. She was brave until the very end and all of us can draw inspiration from the courageous battle that she fought. Our thoughts, prayers and love are with the Kaufling family.”
Additionally, UK’s executive associate athletics director Sandy Bell said that in addition to being a talented dancer, Kaufling “was also an amazing student, in the College of Nursing, who took her academics very seriously.”
Bell noted that the young student was beloved by all who knew “and she will be deeply missed.”
Osteosarcoma can begin in the bones, often found in the legs and sometimes arms, according to Mayo Clinic. The bone cancer most often happens in teenagers and young adults. Symptoms include bone or joint pain that can be mistaken for growing pains, swelling near a bone or pain related to a bone that breaks for no clear reason.
It appears Kaufling rarely shared updates on her health and treatment on her social media. However, on Jan. 6, she posted about ending her chemotherapy treatment.
She shared a video of herself ringing the bell at the hospital, marking the “end of chemo.”
“I felt it was a good time to post. Being the perfectionist I am, I refused to post about this before. For it would show my true weaknesses which I hate to let people see,” she wrote, adding that “2023 was by far not the year I had in mind.”
“My plans of returning to UK with my best friends to dance and start nursing school had made a sharp unexpected turn. I had no choice but instead to spend the past 7 months undergoing an intense chemotherapy treatment full of many hospital stays,” she continued, writing that seven months later she was proud to say “it’s over.”
She wrote that cancer is a curse she wishes on no human being, but that it changed her outlook on life.
“Hold on to your loved ones as long as you can. Those hugs might be the only thing making them feel safe right now. Embrace your friends who treat you no differently because you’re ill,” she wrote. “Thank God everyday for everything around you. Today I’m proud to share I’m officially done with chemotherapy and ready for a better chapter of my life to begin.”
She concluded her caption with a quote: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”
Kaufling is survived by her parents Holly and Steve Kaufling and her twin sister, Abbey.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
