KEY POINTS:
An Auckland-born woman who died in the US after a long battle with melanoma donated her body to science.
Katie Shearer, 24, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma two years ago after she went to have a mole checked. She underwent surgeries to remove the tumours and had radiation treatment.
She also took part in a failed clinical trial for a new cancer treatment. But the cancer spread to her liver and lungs and she died last Sunday.
Her Te Puke-based grandmother Hilda Shearer told the Herald on Sunday Katie did not want a funeral. "She was a forward-thinking girl and she decided she wanted to donate her body to medical science. She told her parents to have a wake for her in three weeks to celebrate her."
Katie's aunt Robyn Shearer said she graduated from Portland State University with a science degree a few weeks before she died.
Katie was unable to attend the graduation so university officials presented it to her at home.
Katie was born in Auckland but her parents Dean, who was a police officer, and Anna moved to Portland when she was a baby.
Hilda Shearer said Katie returned to New Zealand regularly.
"She was out here about a year ago and she spent time with her uncles in Nelson and Hawke's Bay."
