Farrah's Love: Farrah Fawcett Dies of Cancer at 62

"She now belongs to the ages," those were the words of Ryan O'neal as told to People.Com. People reports that Farrah Fawcett's ongoing battle with anal cancer ended Thursday, June 25th at 9:28 a.m. Fawcett passed away at St. Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, California. She was surrounded by her friends, family and her life partner, Ryan O'neal who is the father of her son, Redmond. Fawcett is most recognized for her undeniable beauty, smile and gorgeous hair yet her memory will be that of a trailblazer and servant to humanity.

The last years of Fawcett's life had been trying-to say the least but somehow the Angel's priority was encircled by what she could do to help others who suffered from cancer just as she did. Fawcett had been on an aggressive search to find alternative treatments to the disease that seems to be careless, unapologetic and still a mystery to many researchers and doctors. Her journey was captured in her personal documentary, "A wing and a Prayer."

As in the case of Fawcett, it seems that every treatment to eradicate cancer is casually followed by a new development that decomposes cells with an aggression much harsher then before. Nevertheless, what Farrah Fawcett did with her celebrity and popularity is beyond instrumental. As a public figure and patient she could have run away and secluded herself due to the physical effects of cancer but her heart wouldn't allow her to do so. There was not an ounce of vanity in Fawcett's body. She did not allow herself to be restricted by the convictions of how she was publicly perceived. She broke against holding on to society's perception of her image and beauty by allowing the world to see her in all the actualities of what cancer can do and proved that beauty is in fact internal. Fawcett allowed cameras to film her as her signature hair was shaved off from chemotherapy. Like an envelope, she opened up her illness to everyone just to help raise the public consciousness of the disease. This also showed that as much as we focus on our exterior selves and other people's outer selves we can not really define people by how they look. There is more to a person then simply the physical so we must not judge people in just that spectrum especially in their illnesses.

Fawcett put her face on a disease that some may not have been able to identify with. She ignited an international conversation that questioned why our technology and brain power has not taken us to a level in which we can combat cancer. Her quest for alternative treatment made people talk about the health care system in a way that it should be examined. Considering how all of us are affected by health in one way or another, health care should always be a hot topic. People ought to research their options with their doctors and providers and understand that they have the freedom to do so. Educating the public about non-traditional routes to treatments of diseases is part of what Farrah Fawcett evoked in the minds of many. Her efforts also made many examine the pharmaceutical companies that are so profitable at the expense of those who are fighting for their lives. The variable costs for treatment were shown in Fawcett's documentary as she traveled to Germany to receive treatment.

Ironically, this morning on The View, Barbara Walters announced that her special on Fawcett would air this evening. She discussed her interview with Fawcett's family and friends stating that, "Fawcett seemed to be in her last hours." In an earlier interview with Walters on 20/20, Fawcett had said, "I don't want to go through life just skimming through." Fawcett had always said that she wanted to fulfill her purpose in life to the best of her ability by consistently making small positive impacts in other people's lives. Walters had revealed that Fawcett had never married O'neal because she found him to be too bossy which did not coincide with her independent free spirit but the love they seemed to share appears to withhold every element of what we all perceive as true love. A love that never walks away no matter what is encompassed by what is defined as grace and complete understanding. Ryan O'Neal never left the love of his life. Walters had revealed on The View that O'Neal was planning to marry Fawcett as soon as she became well enough to say, "I do."I n a clip from the Barbara Walters' special; Farrah's Love, O'neal said that, "She {Farrah} only has the strength to say a few words but when she does she wants us to feel better." Even in her last hours, Fawcett was the woman she had always been throughout her life; thoughtful, brave and caring. In Farrah's Love, Fawcett's friends described her as: "amazing," "compassionate," "magical," "a stardust." Her intensity of care made her loved by all those who knew her. In explaining his undying love for Farrah, O' Neal told Walters, "She is courageous, with simple roots, independent and she has a journey.... She was everybody's love," said O'neal.