Maddy Baloy, a TikToker who shared her journey living with terminal cancer and touched the hearts of millions online, has died at the age of 26. The Florida-based TikToker who shared her battle with terminal cancer and documented her bucket list experiences, such as dining with Gordon Ramsay at his Miami restaurant, died on Wednesday night, her fiancé confirmed.
Many were left concerned when Maddy took a break from posting over the last few weeks, flooding the comments section with messages of support and well wishes. "Madison passed away peacefully last night," her fiancé Louis Risher told PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, adding that she was 'surrounded with love.'
Losing Her Cancer Battle
"She is so special," Risher said. "I turned 27 yesterday, actually. I was holding her hand all day and that's all I needed."
Baloy, from Tampa, began experiencing stomach issues in the summer of 2022 and was later diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after vomiting blood.
However, the 26-year-old transformed it into a positive experience by sharing her powerful journey on social media, garnering hundreds of thousands of followers.
In her last TikTok, posted in March from Japan, she bravely showed viewers internal photographs of tumors in different parts of her body. She explained that while she was on her dream vacation in Kyoto, the weather was so cold that she had been shivering.
Despite this, she wanted to confront the challenge of taking a bath with her colostomy bag.
"Hi my name is Madison and I have stage four terminal cancer, and I haven't taken a bath in a year," she said.
"My cancer is in my large intestine, my small intestine, my uterus, my ovaries, basically the entire lower half of my body is filled up with cancer. Because of that, I had to have an emergency surgery to receive a colostomy [bag]."
"The only thing that I can think of is how amazing a bath would feel. This house happens to have the most beautiful bath that I've ever seen. But because I have a colostomy, I haven't taken a bath in a year," she added, as tears rolled down her cheek.
The Final Struggle
Baloy said that after undergoing a colostomy procedure, she never expected being able to bathe again because she believed it would be too messy. "But I'm in Japan for a very limited amount of time. I'm here on Earth for a very limited amount of time, and I don't want to be afraid to take a bath. So, come take a bath with me," she said as she sobbed.
After her diagnosis, Baloy created her first cancer-related TikTok to share her bucket list, which she felt compelled to complete quickly. At the top of her list, she expressed her desire to "see everything."
She also shared that she wanted to party in a DJ booth, learn to roll a joint, have a wedding, get a tattoo with her grandma, sleep under a willow tree, be a podcast guest, and meet Gordon Ramsay.
In response to her video, the 57-year-old British chef expressed his desire to meet Madison, emphasizing that it wouldn't be just a regular meet-and-greet.
In response to her video, the 57-year-old British chef said that he would love to meet Madison, saying that it wouldn't be just a regular meet-and-greet.
"First of all, I'd like to fly you down to Miami, have dinner with you and your friends in Hell's Kitchen and then the following night, Friday night, you'll be our special guest at the opening of our new restaurant, Lucky Cat, in South Beach," he said.
After meeting Baloy, Ramsay wrote: "I hope you had the best time @madison in Miami! It was such an honor for you to be my VVIP last night at #LuckyCat! Thanks to everyone on TikTok too for helping making sure these dreams come true."
An overwhelmed Baloy described the experience as 'the best night of my life'. "Thank you endlessly for giving me the biggest yes, Chef," she said in a video.
Baloy started experiencing symptoms last year while attending a music festival with her friends. Initially, she believed she might have IBS or Crohn's disease.
However, her symptoms, including stomach pain, nausea, and exhaustion, rapidly worsened, prompting her to seek medical attention at urgent care. A nurse suggested the possibility of cancer, leading her to go to the ER, where she was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer.
Baloy said that she had accepted the possibility of living with cancer indefinitely and was endeavoring to make the most of the time she had.
