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 while documenting her life with terminal cancer online, has died at the age of 26. 

The Florida kindergarten teacher, who posted candid videos while ticking off her bucket list dreams including dining with Gordon Ramsay at his Miami restaurant, died Wednesday night, her fiancé said.

'Madison passed away peacefully last night,' her partner Louis Risher told PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, adding that she was 'surrounded with love.'

'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, started suffering stomach issues in the summer of 2022, and she 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 ER for what she thought was a common stomach bug

Chef Gordon Ramsay helped her dreams come true by flying her out to his restaurant and cooking for her after she revealed it was a bucket list aspiration

According to the American Cancer Society , a colostomy is an opening made during surgery in the abdominal wall in the belly. A colostomy changes the way your body passes stool

But the 26-year-old stayed positive through the harrowing struggle by sharing her powerful journey on social media, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers. 

In her final TikTok posted in March from Japan, she showed viewers internal photographs of tumors in various parts of her body.  

She went on to explain that she was on her dream vacation in Kyoto but the weather was so cold she had been 'shivering', so she wanted to face 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].' 

As tears filled her eyes, she added: '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.' 

Baloy noted that after she had her colostomy, she never imagined she would take a bath again because 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 tears fell down her face.

The video cut to a clip of her in a bubble bath as she smiled from ear-to-ear.

The 26-year-old noted that after she had her colostomy, she never imagined she would take a bath again because it would be too 'messy'

According to the American Cancer Society , a colostomy is an opening made during surgery in the abdominal wall in the belly. A colostomy changes the way your body passes stool (Madison's colostomy bag shown)

Madison has also given viewers a look at her life after being diagnosed, with her most recently sharing her excitement at being able to bathe after a year

As she sat in the bath, she said: 'I hope, in your life, you get to take a thousand baths

Following her diagnosis, Baloy made her first cancer TikTok to share the bucket list which she was in 'a hurry to finish'. 

Coming in at number one, Madison said she wanted to 'see everything.'

She also revealed that she wanted to party in a DJ booth, learn how 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 clip, the 57-year-old British chef said he would love to meet Madison - and not just as 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 added: '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.'

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 saying it was 'an absolute pleasure' and involved him dancing in his kitchen for the first time ever. 

Baloy, from Tampa, started suffering stomach issues in the summer of 2022, and she was later diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after vomiting blood

Baloy, from Tampa, started suffering with stomach issues in the summer of 2022, and she was later diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after vomiting blood 

Her stomach pain, nausea and exhaustion quickly became too much, and she went to urgent care

Baloy began feeling 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 urgent care. 

A nurse told her could have cancer and redirected her to the ER, 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 scared that people were only going to see me for cancer and forget who I was,' she said.

She noted that she wanted to tell the world she was still very much a 'person' and began documenting a day in her life online.

Baloy said that she had come to terms with 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 if somehow I live 70 years, I will, at some point die with cancer in my body still,' she said.