Survivor alum Sunday Burquest died after a second battle with cancer, her daughter Kennedy Burquest confirmed on Sunday, April 18. She was 50.
“To my unbelievably beautiful mama, Thank you. Thank you for fighting as hard as you did for as long as you did,” Kennedy, 20, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, after her mom’s passing. “Thank you for being a best friend, a role model, a sister, and my mother all in one. Thank you for raising me to love Jesus, and show that love to others. That’s something you did so well.”
Sunday announced nearly one year prior, in June 2020, that she was diagnosed with esophageal and ovarian cancer after beating breast cancer eight years earlier.
“It breaks my heart to know you will never get to see me on my wedding day, or be there when I have my first kid. But I know you’re watching over me. Although it hurts me so bad to watch you go, I’m so happy you are happy again,” her daughter continued on Sunday. “I’m happy you get to be with Jesus and see your dad. I’m happy you aren’t in pain anymore. I’m happy I got to have these past few months with you. I loved taking care of you. You’ll always be my favorite patient.”
She concluded: “I love you to heaven and back a million times. I know one day we will meet again. Until then, I’ll spend every minute missing you, and trying to make you proud. Rest easy mom, I’ll see you soon 🤍.”
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X winner Adam Klein shared his heartfelt sympathies with the family, commenting on Kennedy’s post.
“You are your mom in so many ways, Kennedy. She always saw you that way. When I look at you I see her, too,” he wrote via Instagram. “I will get to see my friend Sunday as I watch you on your journey, as the grit girl you know that you are. Your special connection with your mom will always carry you through the tough decisions and important moments in your life. ‘What would she do’ is a thought I often have, how would she feel (you’ll know), and you know your mom better than anyone. She will guide you, until you meet again.”
Sunday, who was the mother of four children — daughter Kennedy and three sons — was determined to beat cancer once again when announcing her diagnosis last year.
While wearing a shirt that said, “I survived esophageal and ovarian cancer,” the Grit Girl author told her fans in June 2020 that she was going to beat it “right now” after the cancer started in her esophagus and moved to her ovary.
“But I will say that I do know that I have already survived cancer once and I will survive it again, which is why I’m wearing this shirt and saying right now I survived it,” she said at the time.
The Minnesota native beat breast cancer in 2012 after multiple surgeries, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
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