On Wednesday, popular TikToker Dr. Kimberley Nix passed away, three years after being diagnosed with metastatic sarcoma. She was 31.
The young content creator found a wide audience on social media after sharing her cancer journey on TikTok and Instagram in 2021. The 31-year-old doctor from Calgary, Alberta was in her third and final year of internal medicine core residency when she was diagnosed with metastatic sarcoma.
Several of Dr. Nix’s TikTok videos have been viewed by over a million users, and her account has over 137,000 followers over time. In an April interview, the physician told PEOPLE that her mission was to raise awareness about sarcoma, and encourage people to continue living life despite its challenges.
“I only have one thing in my life that is tough or hard right now. Yes, it is serious, but [it’s] just one thing,” said Dr. Nix at the time. The content creator believed that there is more to life like friends, family, pets, your career.
“So many people go through so much more with so much less to be thankful for. Seeing the beautiful parts of life each day helps me stay grounded and focused on what’s most important to me, and keep pressing forward with more treatment,” she added.
According to Dr. Nix, “having an evolving diagnosis is common in sarcoma because there are over 100 subtypes,” she initially had extra-skeletal osteosarcoma but later discovered she had undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma
Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma is usually found in the back of the abdomen, the arms, or the legs, though it can also form in bone, according to the National Cancer Institute.
“Symptoms of sarcoma are so important because there is no screening test. 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 explained.
“It went from the size of a pea to the size of a golf ball in just over a week, which caused me to see my doctor right away,” she said, adding that she was receiving treatment with daily chemotherapy pills.
Dr. Nix uploaded one final video to her account on the day she passed away, and it has been viewed by over 4.6 million people.
@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
In the clip, she stated, “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 say “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.”
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