US TikToker and young doctor Dr Kimberley Nix has died of metastatic sarcoma after documenting her fight against the disease on social media for the past three years.
The 31-year-old medical resident began sharing her cancer journey online, after being diagnosed with metastatic sarcoma in 2021 at the age of 28 during the final year of her internal medicine core residency.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: TikToker shares video confirming her own death.
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She announced her death in a video she had prerecorded for her follower count of more than 143,000 on TikTok.
“Hello followers, if you’re seeing this message I have passed away peacefully,” she said in an emotional video.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kim, hi! It’s so nice to meet you and you’re welcome to check out all the cool sarcoma facts, information and my lived experience with death and dying with sarcoma cancer.”
“You don’t have to go just because you’re new,” she continued through tears.
“I love you all, thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. I’m in happy tears because you’ve all made me find so much purpose in the end of my life.”
After her diagnosis in 2021, the cancer was initially treated successfully, but it later spread and became terminal.
Nix’s final months were spent in palliative care, from where she would share inspiring videos about the things in life for which she was grateful.
A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that begins in the connective tissues of the body such as fat, muscle, blood vessels, nerves, bone and cartilage, according to Cancer Australia.
Sarcoma occurs when abnormal cells in these types of tissue grow in an uncontrolled way.
Due to the rarity of the cancer, Nix previously spoke of the importance of recognising symptoms to receive an earlier diagnosis.
“Symptoms of sarcoma are so important because there is no screening test,” she told People in April.
“My symptom was the most common symptom in soft tissue sarcoma. (Everything was) completely normal — including all my lab values — except for a small, but rapidly growing lump in my left leg,” she said.
“Mine changed rapidly, which led me to see my doctor right away.
“It went from the size of a pea to the size of a golf ball in just over a week.”
She is survived by her husband, Michael MacIsaac.
