Maddy Baloy, TikToker Whose Terminal Cancer Journey Touched Millions, Dead at 26: 'So Special'

Maddy Baloy’s fiancé tells PEOPLE that she “passed away peacefully” on Wednesday, May 1

Maddy Baloy, a TikToker who documented her life with terminal cancer, has died. She was 26.

"Madison passed away peacefully last night," fiancé Louis Risher tells PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, May 2, adding that she was "surrounded with love."

"She is so special," Risher says. “I turned 27 yesterday, actually. I was holding her hand all day and that’s all I needed."

Baloy, whose candid confessions touched a cord with the millions of people who watched her videos on TikTok, began experiencing stomach issues in the summer of 2022, she told PEOPLE earlier this year. She spent more than a year changing her diet in hopes of solving the problem, but on Feb. 22, 2023, she repeatedly vomited blood and began experiencing sensory issues.

Related: Teen Who Shared 'Firsts and Lasts' on TikTok After Cancer Diagnosis Dies at 18: 'It's Been a Great Ride'

Initially, Baloy believed she had contracted "either a worm" or a stomach virus from one of her Kindergarten students at Shore Acres Elementary in Florida.

But her fiancé urged her to seek medical attention. When she did, doctors discovered abnormalities in her large intestine that required emergency surgery. They later found numerous cancerous tumors pressing on her large intestine, as well.

Family members broke the news to Baloy after she woke up the next morning. She was initially given five years to live.

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Baloy joined TikTok after feeling "alone and isolated" following her diagnosis. She used the popular short-form video app to document her journey as a young woman with terminal cancer.

"I knew that I had a lot to say," she told PEOPLE, emphasizing the importance of experiencing "every single emotion while we're here because we're not going to be here for long.”

In one of her most popular videos, Baloy named 19 of her 20 bucket list items, ranging from getting a tattoo with her grandma and having a "beautiful wedding" to meeting celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Baloy got her wish with Ramsay, whom she met in February. Ramsay flew her down to Miami to have dinner at one of his Hell’s Kitchen locations and join him for the opening of his new restaurant Lucky Cat in South Beach.

The two even made a TikTok together in which Ramsay can be seen twirling Baloy around before giving her a hug. “I hope you had the best time,” Ramsay wrote in the caption of his post.

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Baloy is survived by Risher, her mom Carissa Talmege, 47, and her stepfather Lucky Talmege, 45.

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