Tiktok star Maddy Baloy dies aged 26 after documenting her heartbreaking cancer battle to millions online
Maddy Baloy, a TikToker who captured the hearts of millions as she documented her life with terminal cancer online, has died at the age of 26.
The Florida star, who posted candid videos as she checked off her bucket list dreams, including dinner with Gordon Ramsay at his Miami restaurant, died Wednesday night, her fiancé said.
“Madison passed away peacefully last night,” her partner Louis Risher said PEOPLE in a statement Thursday, adding that she was “surrounded with love.”
“She’s so special,” Risher said. ‘Yesterday I actually turned 27. I held her hand all day and that was all I needed.”
Baloy, of Tampa, developed stomach problems in the summer of 2022 and was later diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after vomiting blood.
Madison Baloy, from Tampa, Florida, was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after going to the emergency room for what she thought was a common stomach flu
Chef Gordon Ramsay helped make her dreams come true by flying her to his restaurant and cooking for her after she revealed it was a bucket list ambition
According to the American Cancer Society, a colostomy is an opening made in the abdominal wall of the abdomen during surgery. A colostomy changes the way your body passes stool
But the 26-year-old turned the tragic situation into something positive by sharing her powerful journey on social media and attracting hundreds of thousands of followers.
In her last TikTok, which she posted from Japan in March, she showed viewers internal photos of tumors in different parts of her body.
She went on to explain that she was on her dream vacation in Kyoto, but it was so cold that she was “shivering,” so she wanted to take on 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 colon, my small intestine, my uterus, my ovaries, basically the entire lower half of my body is filled with cancer. Therefore, I had to undergo emergency surgery to get a colostomy [bag].’
As tears filled her eyes, she added, “All I can think of is how wonderful a bath would feel. This house happens to have the most beautiful bath I have ever seen. But because I have a colostomy, I haven’t had a bath in a year.’
Baloy noted that after getting her colostomy, she never thought she would take a bath again because it would be too “messy.”
‘But I’m only in Japan for a very limited time. I’m only here on earth for a very limited time and I don’t want to be afraid to take a bath. So come take a bath with me,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
The video included a clip of her in a hot tub as she smiled from ear to ear.
Madison Baloy, from Tampa, Florida, has shared the devastating moment she burst into tears while taking her first bath in more than a year during a trip to Japan
The 26-year-old noted that after her colostomy she never thought she would take a bath again because it would be too ‘messy’
According to the American Cancer Society, a colostomy is an opening made in the abdominal wall of the abdomen during surgery. A colostomy changes the way your body passes stool (Madison’s colostomy bag pictured)
Madison has also given viewers a glimpse into her life after being diagnosed, recently sharing her excitement at being able to bathe after a year.
As she sat in the bath, she said, ‘I hope you have a thousand baths in your life
After her diagnosis, Baloy made her first cancer TikTok to share her bucket list, which she was “rushing to finish.”
Madison came in at number one and said she “wanted to see it all.”
She also revealed 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.
Responding to her clip, the 57-year-old chef said he would like to meet Madison, but not just as a regular meet-and-greet.
“First of all, I want to fly you to Miami, have dinner with you and your friends in Hell’s Kitchen and then the next night, Friday night, you will be our special guest at the opening of our new restaurant, Lucky Cat, in South Beach,” he said.
After their meet and greet, the chef added, “Hope you had the best time @madison in Miami! It was an honor for you to be my VVIP at #LuckyCat last night! Also thanks to everyone on TikTok for helping to make these dreams come true.”
Baloy said the experience was “the best night of my life.” “Thank you endlessly for giving me the biggest yes, Chef,” she said in a video.
Ramsay wrote back: ‘What an absolute pleasure, I’m so glad you had a wonderful time, and it’s also the first time I’ve ever danced in my kitchen, thank you.’
Baloy, of Tampa, began experiencing stomach problems in the summer of 2022, and was later diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after vomiting blood.
Her stomach pain, nausea and exhaustion soon became too much and she went to the emergency room
Baloy started experiencing symptoms last year while at a music festival with her friends. She initially thought she had IBS or Crohn’s disease.
But her stomach pain, nausea and exhaustion quickly escalated and she went to the emergency room.
A nurse told her she might have cancer and referred her to the emergency room, where medics diagnosed her with stage four colon cancer.
Baloy told USA Today that after receiving her diagnosis, she took to TikTok to find other people in her position — and in hopes of reclaiming her identity.
“I was really afraid that people would only see me because of cancer and forget who I was,” she said.
Noting that she wanted to tell the world that she was still a “person,” she began documenting a day in her life online.
Baloy said she had accepted the possibility of having cancer forever and was trying to make the best of the time she had.
“Whether I only live five years or somehow live 70 years, I will still die at some point with cancer in my body,” she said.