Mia Love, a former US Representative and the first Black woman elected to Congress as a Republican, has died at the age of 49.
She passed away after battling a severe form of brain cancer.
Her family announced her death in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night, that reads, “With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully today.”
The statement added, “She was in her home surrounded by family. In the midst of a celebration of her life and an avalanche of happy memories, Mia quietly slipped the bands of mortality and, as her words and vision always did, soared heavenward. We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”
Love appeared on CNN’s show The Lead with Jake Tapper to talk about her diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM), a type of brain cancer she was diagnosed with in 2022.
GBM is highly aggressive, with most patients living only 1.5 to 2 years after diagnosis and only a 10% chance of surviving beyond five years.
Love shared that since August 2023, she had been undergoing immunotherapy every three weeks as part of a clinical trial at The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.
Despite being told she had only 10-15 months to live she lived longer than expected.
She also talked about staying hopeful and how her Mormon faith gave her strength during her battle with cancer.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox praised Love as a pioneering and influential leader in a message about her death.
