Off The Record
Brennan Elliott, A Hallmark Star, Has Disclosed That His Wife Has Passed Away
The actor talked about the deep loss his family is currently experiencing after his wife lost her protracted fight with cancer in a post that was full of heartache and thankfulness.
Hallmark actor Brennan Elliott announced the tragic passing of his wife, Camilla Row, on Instagram earlier today, March 24. The actor disclosed that she died at 5:28 a.m. following an eight-year fight with cancer in a heartfelt statement.
“Our babies and I lost our rock, a person who not only was the love of my life, my soulmate, my best friend and lover but the toughest strongest fearless person I have ever met in my life and the greatest mother to her babies,” wrote Elliott.
The actor also expressed gratitude to the global network of fans and supporters who prayed for Row during her battle with cancer. “[…] I know my wife @camilla_row would have wanted me to thank every person from all over the world who prayed for her over the last 8 years […],” he wrote.
After getting married in 2011, Elliott and Row had two kids together. Prior to her illness, she led a full and active life and worked as a clinical psychologist in Orange County, California.
But in 2018, she started having persistent heartburn and excruciating stomach pain, which physicians originally wrote off as digestive problems. After seeing three experts, she eventually had an endoscopy, which showed a white spot in her stomach.
Poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma, an aggressive and uncommon kind of stomach cancer, was identified by follow-up testing. Row had no recognized risk factors, so the diagnosis was unexpected. She remembered:
“I didn’t even know you could get cancer in the stomach! I felt intense panic and fear. And I thought it was a death sentence.”
She was young, fit, and energetic; she had been a track and swim star in high school. She had met Elliott at the gym years prior and led a healthy lifestyle.
But she was more vulnerable than she thought because of her Korean ancestry. People of Asian heritage are much more likely to get stomach cancer, and in South Korea, standard screening for the disease starts around age 35. Born and reared in the United States, Row had not undergone screening.
After receiving the diagnosis, she underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy and had her stomach removed. Her cancer seemed to be in remission for a while.
However, circulating tumor DNA was found in a blood test in late 2021, and scans showed the malignancy had spread to her ovaries. She received a second diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic stomach cancer in early 2022.
In an April 2022 Instagram post, Elliott made her diagnosis public by writing, “Even after countless surgeries and chemotherapy rounds, she forges ahead, taking on one of the most aggressive types of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.”
The actor, who is renowned for his solitude, clarified that telling his wife’s tale could benefit others. “If there is any hope that her story can help even one person, then her cancer experience was not done in vain,” he stated.
That same year, Elliott gave an update while attending Christmas Con in Pasadena, California. “She’s hanging in there,” he told People, noting that Row had completed her 16th round of chemotherapy over the last few years. “She’s a warrior.”
“We just want to keep that cancer critter away from her. It’s a lot of long nights, not a lot of sleeping with the kids and stuff,” he added.
The Hallmark star further revealed that he would not “shy away from or lie about” his wife’s condition by acting as if everything was fine, as it was “an absolute nightmare.”
But for the actor, who has starred alongside people like Lacey Chabert, going to events like Christmas Con provided him the willpower to keep going despite his wife’s health issues.
“But when I come here, it’s a bit of a reprieve, because I get a chance to be surrounded by the fans… everybody’s just really good people. It’s really, really lovely. Then, when I go home, it kind of enriches me a little bit to keep going,” Elliott said.
Unfortunately, Row’s cancer persisted in spite of intensive therapy, which included removing her fallopian tubes and ovaries. She then turned to City of Hope and gastric cancer specialist Dr. Yanghee Woo for assistance.
In order to treat cancer in the abdominal cavity, Dr. Woo suggested an aggressive strategy that involved the use of hot chemotherapy called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion, or HIPEC.
Row subsequently had four HIPEC surgeries, the first three of which produced unsatisfactory outcomes. However, the fourth, which was done in early 2023, offered unanticipated hope. On March 6, medical professionals discovered no signs of cancer anywhere on her body. Dr. Woo stated:
“Being able to give hope to a patient with so much to live for—I could not stop smiling during the call.”
Still, Row and her doctors knew the fight wasn’t over. With stage 4 gastric cancer, long-term survival remains rare, and the risk of recurrence is high. She was realistic but hopeful. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” she said at the time. “Everything came together for me. But I worked really hard. I didn’t take no for an answer.”
During her struggle, Row shared her story to inspire others battling the same illness and to increase awareness. Elliott highlighted in his farewell tribute how powerful and deeply felt her presence was in the community of stomach cancer patients.
“What you did for the #gastriccancer community was immeasurable, but what you did for me as a man will last forever,” he wrote. Elliott ended the tribute with a message of eternal love, writing that he looks forward to being reunited with her one day.
“I know you are dancing and are on vacation in heaven and free from the grips of cancer,” he shared. “When the Lord calls me and it’s my time, I will see you in heavenand we will start dancing again… I will always be your hot mess! Missing you on this plane forever but will c u soon! [sic]”
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