Helen Muscat with her Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.Helen Muscat with her Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika.
 

Tireless healthcare campaigner and nurse Helen Muscat, 57, passed peacefully away yesterday morning in “a circle of love” formed by her loved ones, who held her hands in a circle around her bed.

As a founding member of the Hospice Movement, the Breast Care Support Group and the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation, Ms Muscat touched the lives of countless cancer patients, journeying with them through their ravaging illness while pushing for better treatment and care.

It is tragically poignant that the disease which she had lobbied so fervently against was the one to ultimately claim her life, ending a three-year battle against the disease which had resurfaced seven years after it had first reared its ugly head in 2004.

Ms Muscat’s husband, Peter, described her passing as “very serene” in the comfort of her own home. She was surrounded by her 79-year-old mother Jeannette, and her sons Steven, 31, and Paul, 29, the latter of whom had flown from Thailand on Thursday to be beside his mother.

She was visited by her UK family during the past few months, while her husband’s family cooked and cared for them.

Dr Muscat described his wife as the most selfless person he had ever met.

“She was always full of love and encouragement, not just for me and the children but also for her friends and everyone else.”

Last December, she was awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika for her support and active campaigning to provide breast cancer patients with a better quality of life.

Co-founder of the foundation and close friend Esther Sant recalled how very loved she was by the patients whom she cared for and over whose rights she fought for.

“She had enormous vision. She was a healthcare professional and occupied various high posts both in the Government and in the private sector.

“It is thanks to her that today we have the National Breast Screening, free Herceptin [breast cancer treatment] and good quality breast prosthesis. She also helped set up the Zammit Clapp Hospital.”

Ms Sant added that the motto for the foundation, which Ms Muscat came up with, was “actions speak louder than words.”

It is thanks to her that today we have the National Breast Screening

“Peter called me, telling me that Helen wanted to say goodbye. I held her hands and told her ‘we’re together now’. She smiled.”

Action for Breast Cancer Foundation committee member Jenny Oakley recalled Ms Muscat as her mentor.

“She was gentle, kind and so generous. She was involved in tonnes of charities. She was so brave and strong – always with a smile on her face. She was such an inspiration to breast cancer survivors.”

Interviewed by The Sunday Times of Malta two years ago as she battled the re-emergence of breast cancer, Ms Muscat was asked whether she was scared of dying.

She had replied: “No, I’m not scared. I’m sad because I don’t want to leave, but at the same time I believe there will be a spiritual presence, that I will still be close...”

Her funeral will be held at the Pembroke parish church on Tuesday at 2pm.

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