TikTok star Maddy Baloy, whose cancer journey touched millions, dead at 26: ‘A true inspiration’
TikTok sensation Maddy Baloy, who documented her terminal cancer journey for millions of people, died Wednesday night at age 26.
The inspirational video creator, who worked as a kindergarten teacher in Florida, was “surrounded with love” as she lost her battle to colon cancer, her fiancé Louis Risher confirmed.
“Madison passed away peacefully last night,” Risher told People in a statement on Thursday.
“She is so special,” he added. “I turned 27 yesterday, actually. I was holding her hand all day and that’s all I needed.”
The Tampa native began suffering from various stomach symptoms in 2022, before ultimately being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.
Baloy was initially given five years to live, but she didn’t let the news bring her down.
Instead, she created a TikTok account where she began to document her journey with the illness. Before she knew it, millions of people tuned in to watch her videos.
In one of her most popular videos on the account, Baloy revealed 19 of her top 20 bucket list items she wanted to accomplish.
The list included everything from getting a tattoo and appearing on a “cool podcast” to seeing everything she can and meeting celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
And thanks to the power of social media, Baloy got her wish when Ramsay flew her down to Miami, Fla., to have dinner at one of his Hell’s Kitchen restaurants.
The British chef also invited her to join him for the opening of his new restaurant Lucky Cat in South Beach.
The pair made a TikTok video together which instantly went viral. “I hope you had the best time,” Ramsay commented on the clip of the duo dancing.
“I’m truly at a loss for words by the sad news we received today about the loss of (Madison),” Ramsay said following the news of Baloy’s death. “She was kind, fun and a true inspiration to me and my three girls. Knowing we were able to make one of her dreams come true will always be cherished by me.
“She will always be my first & last dance in the kitchen and never forgotten. Sending all our love to her fiancé and family,” he added.
In what was her final video on the platform, Baloy shared a video from Japan in March in which she bravely showed the tumors on her body.
“Hi my name is Madison and I have stage four terminal cancer, and I haven’t taken a bath in a year,” she said in the video.
“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,” she added. “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.”
Baloy leaves behind her fiancé, her mom Carissa Talmege, and her stepfather Lucky Talmege.
