Right up until her last days, Kathryn Louise Wilson was a warrior. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009, Kat battled through her illness - challenging the Government to give free or subsidised skin checks for all Kiwis.

But on June 11, Kat's struggle with one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, came to an end and she died surrounded by her family at Waipuna Hospice Tauranga. She was just 44.

Kat Wilson, pictured here with children Myesha and Riley, is described as a lovely woman who touched many people's lives. Photos: 4get Me Not Photography.

In October 2009, Kat was diagnosed with malignant melanoma on her back and in lymph nodes under her right arm after finding blood on her bed sheets.

She had surgery to remove an 18cm long, 3cm wide section of skin and tissue on her back, and the affected lymph nodes.

When she was diagnosed, she was told she had a 47 per cent chance of being alive in five years.

Although there was no conclusive evidence, Kat strongly suspected her cancer was caused by a sunbed.

Craig and Kat with their two youngest children Myesha and Riley.

In 2002, Kat says she went through a bad experience on a sunbed in a hairdressing salon. She told SunLive she used a sunbed and received no advice about the amount of time she should spend on it for her skin type and ended up on the bed for 25 minutes.

Kat ended up receiving burns which ended up blistering. It took several days of treatment and creams before the burning lessened.

Kat's husband Craig Wilson says her life wasn't just defined by what happen with the sunbed.

He says she also wanted to raise awareness of the risks of skin cancer and right up until her death, she was fighting and advocating for the Government to give free or subsidised skin checks for all New Zealanders.

Craig says he was lucky to be the man to share the last 15 years of her life and described her as the most beautiful person he had met.

'She touched so many people's lives and she was just a lovely person, the nicest person you could meet. She just lived for her kids.

'She was trustworthy, respectful and that's why everybody loved her. I got her for 15 years. How lucky am I?”

The loving husband, who is now helping his two youngest children Riley 10, and Myesha 8, through the pains of not having their mother, says the children have taken it in their stride.

'We've known for the last 18 months that she was terminally-ill and was going to die. In fact when she became terminal, she never denied it.

'[Riley and Myesha] have been through this journey for 18 months and we've been up front with them and we've never hidden anything from them. Of course we've had fantastic support from Waipuna Hospice all the way through,” says Craig.

'Knowing it's going to happen doesn't make it any less sad. It's just that the shock factor is gone. The sadness and the sense of loss is just the same and the kids will have to work through that, and I'm there for them to work through that.”

Kat is survived by her husband Craig, children Riley, 10, and Myesha 8, and stepchildren Michael 29, Bianca 27 and Diane 26.

In a funeral notice the Wilson family sincerely thanked Waipuna Hospice for their loving care and support of Kat and her family.

A service to celebrate Kat's life will be held at Tauranga Park, Pyes Pa Road tomorrow at 1pm. The family have asked in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Waipuna Hospice.