Camera Obscura keyboardist and singer Carey Lander dies after long battle with osteosarcoma

Carey Lander, the singer and keyboard player for Camera Obscura has died from a rare form of bone cancer, osteosarcoma. The Scottish band, hailing from Glasgow, confirmed the news on their official Facebook page, announcing that Lander lost her battle with the disease on the morning of 11 October.

"It is with the greatest sadness, that we must share the news that Carey passed away peacefully this morning after her illness with cancer," they wrote. "We have lost our friend and band mate, and our deepest sympathy goes out to her partner, Kenny, and to all her family and friends."

Lander, who joined the group in 2002, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2011, and had since raised more than £50,000 to help fund organisations researching further into the illness. Band members Tracyanne Campbell, Gavin Dunbar, Kenny McKeeve and Lee Thomson also stated over the social media that Lander had been touched by their fans' support of her personal JustGiving page, which backed the charity Sarcoma UK. They also said that they would continue to promote the campaign in her memory.

"She was left in no doubt how much you all loved and appreciated her, and we'd like to thank you all for the support and kind words you have been sending to us and her. The band, our music, and all of you who have enjoyed it over the years, meant so much to her," the Facebook post continued alongside of photograph of Lander. As of noon 12 October, donations on her JustGiving page had reached in excess of £60,000.

Lander continued to play with the band despite her ill health, something that she reportedly felt "quite fortunate" for. The 33-year-old previously wrote on her fundraising page that she felt lucky to "have been able to have periods of living something of a normal life in the last four years and to continue playing".

"Being able to record the album we had started working on before my diagnosis, and to travel and play shows again has been amazing, and I'm very grateful to everyone that's bought out records, come to our concerts or supported us in some way," she added.

In August 2015, she confirmed that she was taking a break from the band to concentrate on fighting her illness. Subsequently, the rest of Camera Obscura also shared that they were to take time off, meaning that they had to cancel several tour gigs. Around the time of the announcement, guitar player and vocalist Campbell apologised to fans that had bought tickets but stated that her bandmate's health was at the forefront of their concerns.