Ruth Nadine Picardie (1 May 1964 – 22 September 1997) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

journalist and editor.

Life

Ruth Picardie was born on 1 May 1964 in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east o ...

, the daughter of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

n émigrés. She read

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. She worked as an editor and journalist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' newspapers in the UK. She also contributed to other publications, including the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

''. Her memoir of living with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

, '' Before I Say Goodbye'', was published posthumously, culled from five columns written for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

''s magazine ''Life'', and from her personal correspondence. These were collected and edited by her husband

Matt Seaton Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

and her sister

Justine Picardie Justine Picardie is a British novelist, fashion writer and biographer. She is a former editor-in-chief of '' Harper's Bazaar UK'' and '' Town & Country UK''. Her 2010 biography of Coco Chanel was shortlisted for the Galaxy National Book Awards ...

. Picardie married Seaton in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, in 1994. They had two children. Seaton was a keen competitive cyclist and is the author of ''The Escape Artist'', which concentrates on his love of amateur cycling but also chronicled his wife's breast cancer. Picardie died in Lambeth, London, aged 33. Her sister Justine, along with Beth Wagstaff (who soon afterward became another victim of the disease), established The Lavender Trust in her sister's memory. The Trust focuses on raising funds and support for younger women suffering from breast cancer. Picardie and Wagstaff's surgeon, Puvaneswary Markandoo, was subsequently found responsible for other misdiagnosis and negligence in surgical operations on women, and was removed from the medical register ('struck off') by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by ...

in December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picardie, Ruth 1964 births 1997 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from breast cancer English journalists English people of South African descent English women non-fiction writers People from Lambeth People from Reading, Berkshire People from Worthing The Observer people 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers