Cathy Jamison



Catherine 'Cathy' Jamison
Cathy is a high school teacher who, at the start of the series,has been recently diagnosed with melanoma. Reluctant to burden her family and friends with the news, she keeps it a secret for months. She does reveal her illness to neighbor and friend Marlene.

Her behavior dramatically changes as she begins to make reckless choices in the face of oncoming death. These include kicking her husband out of the house, spending money on an expensive car and having an affair. She befriends Andrea, an obese and mouthy student. Desperate to make sure her teenage son is on the right path before she dies, she unintentionally drives a rift between them. She ends her affair when it is exposed, and allows her husband to move back in after finally revealing to him that she is sick.



She gives Sean Marlene's house, that she left for Cathy in her will. She decides to undergo a treatment with great risks because she wants to live.