Widow of Man Who Died of Rare Cancer Says Newborn Daughter Keeps Young Dad-to-Be Alive

Gracie Robertson Matthew Robertson Mattie Juliette Robertson epithelioid angiosarcoma

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Aug 24, 11:14 am

Photo: (Photo : Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay )

Gracie Robertson gave birth to her first child, a baby girl named Mattie Juliette, on July 4, but her joy of becoming a new mother has unfortunately been mixed with sorrow as she is carrying the grief of losing her beloved husband just one month prior.

Matthew Robertson passed away due to epithelioid angiosarcoma, a rare cancer that affects the blood vessels. His death was totally unexpected as it happened just three weeks after his first visit to the emergency room.

Gracie told People Magazine that it has been a roller coaster of emotions since her husband's death. She said that she is not losing sleep because of the baby but it is just impossible to sleep with the grief that she is experiencing. She added that is what's causing her to be exhausted nowadays.

Newborn helps Gracie get through the tough times

Gracie said that it is her baby girl who is helping her get through the days. She revealed that her daughter, whom she named after Matthew, is her husband's clone. Gracie said she looks exactly like him, and she is so happy that she gets to always have a piece of him with her.

When the couple first found out that they were pregnant with Mattie shortly after getting married back in September 2021, Gracie said Matthew would always say how excited he was for their first baby to be born.

Unfortunately for Gracie, Matthew was not able to see that happy moment. He first started to feel like something was wrong with his health back in May, just weeks before her scheduled July 12 due date. After complaining of back pain and tiredness, Matthew's bloodwork taken during a routine physical exam revealed elevated liver enzymes as well as an elevated white blood cell count, according to Insider.

Matthew then started having night sweats days after his doctor visit and he kept feeling more and more tired. One day, he woke up and said he wanted to go to the emergency room to get some treatment.

Very bad news emerged from the ensuing tests as doctors found lesions on his liver, spleen and back. They still did not have a diagnosis, though, so the specialist recommended Matthew to have a liver biopsy.

What is the rare cancer that killed Matthew?

Her condition kept getting worse, though, as they awaited the biopsy results. Gracie decided to take her husband back to the ER on May 31 as he was no longer drinking or eating. They got a major shock when the results from the biopsy came back, with doctors diagnosing the problem as epithelioid angiosarcoma, an illness which often originates in deep tissue.

Dr. Charles A. Forscher, MD, who is the medical director of the sarcoma program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles, said that angiosarcoma is a malignant tumor, or cancer, that is trying to be a blood vessel.

With the tumors highly aggressive, Matthew took his last breath on June 6. Just a month after his death, Gracie welcomed their baby, eight days before her due date.