Joan Buenaventura Ka

In March 2024, Joan complained of what was thought to be a “frozen shoulder”, but her pain had increased and traveled to other parts of her body as each month progressed. In June and July, Joan received multiple tests and saw various specialists. On September 11th, she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma Cancer, specifically called “lambda light chain myeloma.” She started 4 months of induction chemo treatments at MSKCC. Since she was responding well to the treatments and her cancer values were improving, her oncologist team at MSK wanted to start her second phase of treatment in March 2025 with a stem cell transplant chemo protocol.

Unfortunately, she started feeling unwell around the holidays, so we took her to MSK Urgent Care Hospital on January 2nd at 4am. She was admitted to start various meds to address her issues. She seemed to be responding well to the meds since her vitals were improving. But around 1AM, she suddenly and unexpectedly felt worse. She was having difficulty breathing and eventually stopped breathing for about 30 minutes. After trying to revive her multiple times, the ICU team was able to intubate her. However, it was just time borrowed; her heart was too weak, and her body couldn’t fight to live. At this point, I called Teagan, Karis, and June to come to the hospital. At 5:10am, January 3, 2025, Joan passed away.

This photo was taken on our family vacation in August 2024. Behind that beautiful smile, she was in much pain. I told her we should postpone our vacation to focus on her health, but she insisted on keeping the vacation because perhaps she knew this would be her last trip with her family. Joan, you have raised three amazing daughters and you are the love of my life - thank you my dear!

Resting In Christ

Joan Buenaventura Ka

November 15, 1971 - January 3, 2025

Joan is survived by her husband, Lee Ka, her three daughters, Teagan, Karis, June, and her beloved dog, Shadowfax Ka.

A celebration of life for Joan will be held Monday, January 13, 2025, at 6:30 PM in the Staten Island Chinese Christian Church, 159 Schmidts Ln, New York, NY 10314. We kindly ask guests to dress in colorful attire as we celebrate Joan's life.