Cancer Killed Top Chef’s Pakistani-American Contestant Fatima Ali

Who knows when the time comes and life is taken away in a blink of an eye. Same was the case with a Pakistani-American chef Fatima Ali, known for her 2017 appearance on popular US television series Top Chef, who passed away on Friday, 25th January 2019 as CNN reported; after losing a prolonged battle with cancer. 

Fatima had appeared on season 15 of the reality competition show as a contestant and right after that she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, namely Ewing's Sarcoma. Initially, Chemotherapy appeared to benefit her, however, cancer returned last year in September with doctors telling her it has widely spread. 

The 29-year-old chef, who was also voted as 'fan favourite' on Top Chef. In October 2018, she penned an opinion editorial (op-ed) for Bon Appetit, in which she shared that she has a year to live and intends to use it to make amends with the people in her life and to sample the finest food all over the world. 

In November, she had appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about how she was dealing with her terminal cancer diagnosis. Fatima later said also said that her plan was to travel the world to dine at the best restaurants. Her friends from Top Chef had started a GoFundMe page to help her fulfill her wishes. 




Fatima also wrote about how she and her brother decided to write a recipe a day, she planned on eating at the city’s wide variety of restaurants and were planning a trip to Italy. In the essay she wrote, she concluded that: 
                                                               
"There are days that I'm exceptionally afraid. There are days I sit alone and cry, because I don't want to do it in front of my family…but at the same time, you can't let that fear cripple you. It's harder being miserable than it is to be happy."

On January 11, she shared an update about her health in her last Instagram post. 

 

May Allah (SWT) give us all good health and save us from such crucial health conditions. However, if one gets to experience, may he give us the courage to fight and not lose hope. Our condolences are with all those who have passed due to such critical conditions. Let others know so they can also contribute their share of prayers and duas. 

See also: Duas for deceased