Young mother Kamala Smith died yesterday morning at the age of 33 after a five-year battle with cancer.

Mrs Smith, the wife of footballer Nakia Smith, had leiomyosarcoma — a cancer of the smooth muscle and connective tissues — diagnosed in September 2011.

Since then she has been at the heart of numerous fundraising efforts, with the North Village Community Club, Bermuda’s Emerging Professionals and Mark Anderson, the man behind Sybil Barrington, all working to help cover the cost of her treatment in recent years. Mr Anderson described Mrs Smith as an “amazing, dynamic, super young lady” who was deeply devoted to her family and husband.

“She was a beautiful, spirited woman with great pride and class,” he said.

“She was a fun-loving lady. Just a beautiful person to be around.

“This is a great loss for her family, her friends, and a huge loss for her husband as well as her children.

“She struggled. She fought so hard right up until the end. One of the things that I will always treasure about her is she was always very spirited.

“She was always happy, even though she knew of her illness and was aware of her illness. Every second was a positive one for her. Sometimes she was in excruciating pain, but she would never let you know. She was always happy-go-lucky.”

Her friend Giovanna Watson, a fellow cancer patient, said she had become “my model of strength and determination when she heard about my fight with cancer and came to visit me in the hospital after my first surgery July 2014”.

“There is nothing more beautiful and inspiring to witness how a person, who was in constant pain as Kamala was, still smiled and encouraged others while fighting cancer,” Ms Watson said. “There was no amount of chemo, pain or constant travelling that could take away her love of her family and friends, or our love for her.

“Having cancer was her reality, but enjoying life and its moments was her priority.

“It’s easy to hate cancer because it’s ugly and scary but because of her honesty, encouraging words and stolen moments she pulled beauty from it — moments, smiles and memories that cancer will never be able to take away from us.”

Meanwhile, the North Village Community Club issued a statement saying the group was saddened by the loss of Mrs Smith.

Shervin Dill, club president, said: “Kamala has been embraced by the NVCC family over the past years and we were always humbled by her courage, her tears of joy, and the appreciation and love she displayed towards us during her illness.

“On behalf of the North Village Community Club family we extend our most sincere condolences to Nakia and both the Smith and Simons families and wish you God’s blessings during this very difficult time.”