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Dear Members of the CLF community,
It is with profound sadness that the Canadian Lymphedema Framework shares the news of the passing of Dr. David H. Keast.
David was a founding member of the CLF and has been part of this organization since its earliest days. He served first as Co-Chair, then as Chair and Treasurer, and most recently as Past Chair. Across all of these roles, he provided steady guidance, thoughtful leadership, deep clinical knowledge, and an unwavering commitment to improving care for people living with lymphedema.
David’s contributions to the CLF are difficult to fully capture. He was a member of our Editorial Board and Scientific Committee, a frequent contributor to Pathways, a valued speaker at CLF conferences, and a trusted source of medical guidance for our educational materials, consensus statements, and national initiatives. He helped shape every stage of the CLF’s development with wisdom, care, humility, and compassion.
Among his many contributions, David worked with Dr. Anna Towers and a dedicated team of colleagues to develop critically important Canadian lymphedema prevalence data in 2018, later updated in 2025. This work has been foundational in helping the CLF and others better describe the scope and impact of lymphedema in Canada.
David’s leadership extended far beyond the CLF. He was widely respected across the wound care and lymphedema communities in Canada and internationally, and served in leadership roles with the International Lymphoedema Framework and many other professional organizations. His influence was felt not only through his formal positions, but through the generosity with which he shared his expertise, encouraged collaboration, and supported those working to improve care.
For those of us who had the privilege of working with David, this is an enormous personal and organizational loss. He was not only a colleague and leader, but a mentor, guide, and friend to many in the CLF community.
On behalf of the Canadian Lymphedema Framework, we extend our deepest condolences to David’s family, friends, colleagues, patients, and all those whose lives and work were touched by him.
A fuller tribute to David’s life, leadership, and lasting contributions will be published in the Winter issue of Pathways.
With gratitude for all that David gave to the CLF and to the broader lymphedema community, we remember him with deep respect and affection.
Warmly,
The Canadian Lymphedema Framework
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