A UK woman who died from a rare cancer was publicly dissected in a groundbreaking television first on the British show “My Dead Body” — after bravely donating her body to raise awareness.
Mother-of-two Toni Crews lost her battle with adenocarcinoma in 2020 — four years after she was diagnosed with the disease, which started with blurry vision, the Mirror reported.
She then had her right eye removed after a tumor developed in her tear gland, but the cancer returned in 2018.
Crews documented her journey on the Instagram page blingkofaneye_. where she shared raw photos of her battle.
“It’s so nice to be home from hospital. I have so much help, care and support here both from friends and family, the hospice team and from nurses too,” she wrote in August 2020 shortly before her death.
The young woman from Deal, Kent, decided to donate her body to science to raise awareness about the illness and allowed it to be dissected on Channel 4’s “My Dead Body.”
The channel said the documentary marks the first time a dissection of a named donor has been captured on TV, the Express and Star reported.
“This gives me peace for the future,” Crews says on the program, which uses voice-replicating technology to include her diary entries and letters to loved ones.
Professor Claire Smith, head of anatomy at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, leads a variety of workshops about the late woman’s body in the groundbreaking show.
“We have been so privileged to explore the journey of cancer through the incredible donation made by Toni,” Smith said, according to the Mirror.
“As part of this documentary, we were able to invite more than 1,000 students, including nurses, paramedics and neuroscientists, who wouldn’t normally get to learn about this one-in-a-million cancer,” she said.
“Toni’s gift of body donation doesn’t end with this documentary either,” the professor added. “Her body will be used to educate our medical students and doctors for years to come.”
Channel 4 editor Anna Miralis said the documentrary tells “one of the most intimate stories of all, how a young mum bravely fought for her life against a rare form of cancer.”
“By donating her body to public display, the first of its kind in the UK, Toni Crews has given us an extraordinary and unique look into the journey of the disease,” Miralis said.
“While the presence of her voice in the form of diary entries and letters and social media posts ensures the film is filled with all the warmth and generosity that characterized Toni’s inspiring life,” she added.
Crews is the first public display cadaver in the UK since records began 180 years ago, the broadcaster said, and is the first British cadaver to be observed being dissected in such a manner for almost 200 years, the Express and Star reported.
