The family of late actress Marleen Hutchful has revealed that she died of Acute Myeloid Leukemia which they say is essentially blood cancer.

According to the family, her battle with the illness was brief. The actress passed away on January 11, at the age of 35.

“She had no hereditary traces of the disease nor did we ever think she was prone to it. Alas, we lost her to it after a brief battle. She fought it as she’d never fought anything before. She was brave till she took her last breath,” the family noted in a tribute to Marleen on the website marleenhutchful.life created to celebrate and honour her memory.

The death of Marleen took Ghanaians by surprise. On Friday, January 21, Marleen’s demise was announced by former co-star Adjetey Anang on Instagram.

She played the role of Lois, a young, nosy girl with an American accent.

Mr. Anang, who played ‘Pusher’ in the TV series, described her as one who “brought with u such youthful exuberance” to the star-studded programme.

Many Ghanaians and lovers of 'Things We Do for Love' took to social media to commiserate with her family and share some of their fondest memory of Marleen from the show.

Marleen’s family, on the website, shares more information about the illness.

“If you come away from this knowing a bit more about Leukemia, Marleen’s memory will be preserved. We would like to thank all the doctors that took such expert and careful care of Marleen. We will forever be grateful for the days you gave us with her,” they wrote.

Aside from the statement, the website also has tributes from Marleen’s friends, co-workers and acquaintances.

Many shared their fond memories of Marleen. The website also has pictures of Marleen with her family and friends.