TikTok star Dr. Kimberley Nix has passed away, three years after she was diagnosed with metastatic sarcoma. She was just 31.
Kimberley (AKA @cancerpatientmd) grew famous on Instagram and TikTok in 2021 after she started documenting her cancer journey. She was just 28 and in the last year of her internal medicine core residency when she was first diagnosed with extra-skeletal osteosarcoma. Doctors later determined she had undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. She explained to People that “having an evolving diagnosis is common in sarcoma because there are over 100 subtypes.”
Per the National Cancer Institute, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma usually forms in the soft tissue (but it can form in the bone). For Kimberley, she first noticed a lump on her left leg, which “rapidly” grew to be the “size of a golf ball in just over a week.” She soon began chemotherapy, taking a pill every day throughout her treatment, per People.
Related: TikTok Star Maddy Baloy Dead At 26 After Battle With Cancer
Heartbreakingly, Kimberley, from Calgary, Alberta, announced her death herself via a 9-minute prerecorded video posted to TikTok, in which she told her beloved fans:
“Hello followers, if you’re seeing this message I have passed away peacefully. 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 went on to thank those who gave her the platform to advocate for sarcoma awareness as well as helping her live her best life by completing things off her bucket list, such as a trip to New York City. She shared:
“Thank you all so much. And if following along has been helpful in any way, I have achieved my goal. If sarcoma awareness is achieved, I have achieved my goal. And I just can’t thank you all enough for being so supportive, for your comments, for cheering me on, for helping us feel not alone in this process. This community has meant the absolute world to me and I can’t thank you enough. I will miss you, TikTok. 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.”
She also teared up while speaking about her husband, Michael MacIsaac, emotionally reflecting:
“He’s the love of my life. It’s the most beautiful love. My only sadness dying is knowing that we didn’t get to grow old together. Everything else is totally bearable because that is the only thing that really matters.”
Oof. So gut-wrenching!
In her caption, she added:
“My journey here is over and i cant thank each and every one of you enough! You have all made me so happy and your comments and support are more than enough to have gotten anyone through anything! If you wish, Please donate through my link in bio to sarcoma cancer research and follow my husband in his updates @LightestCheese”
Donations can be made HERE, if you wish. Listen to the emotional full goodbye (below):
@cancerpatientmd My journey here is over and i cant thank each and every one of you enough! You have all made me so happy and your comments and support are more than enough to have gotten anyone thriugh anything! If you wish, Please donate through my link in bio to sarcoma cancer research and follow my husband in his updates @LightestCheese ???? #death #dying #palliative #sarcoma #undifferentiatedpleomorphicsarcoma #cancer #cancerpatient #md #resident #medschool
♬ original sound – Cancer Patient, MD
We are sending our love to all of Kimberely’s family and friends right now! She touched so many lives throughout this difficult journey. May she now rest in peace…
[Image via Kimberley Nix/TikTok]
