Edmonds was a former Miss Newfoundland (1986) who turned to acting on the stage and screen, performing in recent years in film and TV productions like “The Grand Seduction” and “Republic of Doyle” and in numerous theatre productions, including a run of “Rig- Voices From the Ocean Ranger Disaster,” in St. John’s this past February.
In the summer of 2015, Edmonds was cast as Lady Macbeth in Perchance
Theatre Company’s production of “Macbeth,” and later learned the breast cancer she had beat a few years prior had returned as Stage 4. She never let it slow her down and never missed a show, and Perchance offered a free show to cancer patients and their families in Edmonds’ honour.
“A lot of people get this illness and they really stop living,” Edmonds told The Telegram at the time, calling her participation in the show “the best medicine.”
“But they call it ‘living with cancer’ and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
In the past couple months, Edmonds was outspoken about the provincial government’s lack of coverage of the drug Neupogen for metastatic cancer patients. Prescribed to those undergoing chemotherapy to increase the number of certain white blood cells, the drug requires special authorization for coverage under the province’s prescription drug program. In December, the province tightened the criteria for the special authorization, and Edmonds said it resulted in terminal cancer patients being ineligible for coverage of the expensive drugs.
Edmonds posted about her condition on Facebook May 6, from hospital.
“To try and simplify the current situation, the chemo is not working and has been discontinued. I have blood clots in at least one lung, probably both. I’ve been on oxygen since we came in. My left lung is producing cancerous fluid that’s filling the area around the lung.”
Edmonds made her last Facebook post Tuesday.
“Hey gang, I’m still here. Appreciate your patience, hanging on to mine,” she wrote.
Edmonds’ sister broke the news of her passing on Facebook Saturday evening.
“Janet, my awe-inspiring sister, was finally freed of her suffering at 9:30 this evening. Thank-you for all the love, laughter and support you gave her,” she wrote.”
