She died 18 months later. Her husband Andrew Petrie and three daughters took part in the weekend’s Relay for Life in Dunedin in memory of the "ultra-positive" wife, mother and advocate.
On Saturday, over 1000 people gathered at Forsyth Barr Stadium for the relay.
The relay, held between 10am and 10pm, gave local teams the chance to celebrate, remember and fight back against cancer, while raising funds for the Cancer Society.
Ambassador and "Walking for a Cure" team member Mr Petrie was taking part to honour his wife’s memory, alongside the couple’s three daughters, aged 14, 10 and 6.
"Life with three daughters is pretty challenging at times," he said.
Mr Petrie gave a speech in his wife’s memory during the candlelight vigil in the evening.
"I can’t even describe it."
While he was trying to make memories during their shortened time together, she had an "expectation of a cure".
Mr and Mrs Petrie also used to talk about how cancer was seen as an "old person’s disease".
"When she would go to some of the Cancer Society things, most of the people there were 20 to 25 years older than her," he said.
Participating in the Relay for Life was also to say thank you to all the agencies that supported her and the entire family.
She knew Mr Petrie through the "classic one degree of separation in Dunedin".
Her husband worked with Mrs Petrie at the Dunedin City Council.
Mrs Jepson was now cancer free and just like Mr Petrie, saw participating as a way to help all the agencies that supported her through her cancer journey.
Mr Petrie and Mrs Jepson helped officially open the event.
They read the oath, cut the ribbon and led the first lap celebrating survivors and carers.
