Sindi Hawkins, a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister who worked to raise money for cancer treatment long before she was diagnosed with the disease, has died.

The Kelowna MLA waged a six-year, high-profile battle with leukemia. She died at noon Tuesday, hours after the B.C. government announced that the Southern Interior Cancer Centre would be named after her.

She was 52 years old.

"She had much more to give and we had more to learn from her," Premier Gordon Campbell said in a statement.

"Anyone who ever met Sindi was struck by her remarkable spirit for everything she put her efforts toward. She was an incredibly kind and considerate human being who dedicated her life to helping others."

Campbell noted Hawkins was able to connect with people in all her careers -- nurse, lawyer, politician, cancer advocate.

Hawkins served three terms after first being elected in 1996 as a member of the Liberal Opposition.

She served as a member of the B.C. cabinet as minister for health planning, minister of state for intergovernmental relations and deputy speaker.

She announced in November 2008 she would not seek a fourth term, saying her health was keeping her from devoting the time and energy she wanted to give to her constituents.

Hawkins was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in 2004. Her sister was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, but the cancer returned again and again.

Hawkins turned her battle into a public campaign to raise awareness for treatment and prevention with a focus on developing a bone marrow registry in B.C.'s South Asian community.

She organized an annual cancer charity golf tournament in Kelowna and served as co-chairwoman of the B.C. Cancer Foundation's Tour of Courage.

"We have lost an inspirational person, an advocate, a role model and a great community leader," Campbell said.

Opposition New Democrat Leader Carole James, who battled her own cancer scare four years ago, paid tribute to Hawkins for her years of public service and her desire to work on behalf of countless others fighting cancer.

"I experienced that first hand with my cancer diagnosis in 2006," said James in a statement. "Sindi was there with support, ideas, and encouragement and I know she played that role with so many others across our province and country. I will always remember her grace and good humour, warmth and tenacity of spirit."

James said Hawkins chose to use her public status as an opportunity to raise awareness about fighting cancer, including raising millions of dollars for the B.C. Cancer Foundation and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local cancer clinic that will now bear her name.

"I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Sindi's family, friends and her community," said James.

Former political colleague Blair Lekstrom said Hawkins had the unique gift of making people smile no matter how difficult the situation.

"She always had that positive approach to things," he said. "She would take the toughest challenge and work across political spectrums to find the right answer for it."

Lekstrom resigned from the Liberal cabinet and party caucus last spring after over the introduction of the harmonized sales tax. He now sits as an independent member of the legislature.

Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd said Hawkins was a passionate advocate for her community who often had the ear of the premier when it came to issues and needs in the Okanagan area.

She said Hawkins made sure her annual charity golf tournament became a community extravaganza, with former seven-time Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, attending one summer.

"Her legacy will be her commitment to the needs of cancer patients and the research that still needs to be done," said Shepherd.

Former B.C. political reporter Scott Sutherland said Hawkins arrived in Victoria ready to soak up the political atmosphere, but she didn't lose her ability to touch people on a personal level.

Sutherland, now a political aide, said she never missed an opportunity to discuss personal health issues.

"Sindi was -- because I was a life-long smoker and she was an ex-nurse -- most distressed about my smoking and she used to send me postcards and fax me and then later e-mail me horrible things about what smoking did to the lungs and things to try and dissuade me from smoking," he said.

"It eventually worked. I haven't had a smoke in two-and-a-half years."

Hawkins was one of the first nurses in Canada to be certified in neuroscience by the Canadian Nurses Association.

After receiving her law degree from the University of Calgary, she opened a law practice specializing in medical-legal issues.