Dominique McShain: TikTok star, 21, diagnosed with incurable colon cancer dies - after telling fans she had days to live

The New Zealand influencer was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 when she was 20 years old and updated her 200,000 fans on her journey. Earlier this month, on April 6, she told her followers she only had days to live. Over two weeks later, she died, as reported by People Magazine.

Earlier this month, she told her fans that she was receiving end of life care and would not post again. Heartbreakingly, she also said the next update on her page would come from her friends and family once she had died as she has now only been given days or weeks to live.

She said in her update: "I want to be direct with you all: this will be my final update on my cancer journey until I have passed away. I’ve recently been given a prognosis about five days ago of only a few days to a few weeks to live. My life may be short, but I genuinely think I've squeezed every bit out of it."

She added: "I won the lottery with a family that loves me unconditionally, friends who would 10000% donate a liver to me or do anything they could (and probably argue over who gets to do it). Recently, I've been picturing Heaven often — a place where l'll finally be free from the pain that's been with me for so long. I imagine myself without the constant suffering, no longer needing medication just to survive the day.

"I'll be able to run, to breathe, to feel whole. Though it will hurt to leave you all behind, please know that I will finally be out of pain, and I will be at peace."

She went on to say that her treatment, including chemotherapy, which she had undergone for seven months, had to stop immediately as her liver failed. This meant that she had developed jaundice, leaving her skin and eyes yellow. She added that the cancer is “progressing quickly”.

McShain had hoped to be a psychologist in her native New Zealand and was in her third year studying psychology at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, when she received her diagnosis. Then she began experiencing extreme fatigue, was struggling to stay awake in her classes and often needed to take naps throughout the day despite getting a good nights sleep. On May 3 last year, she posted a video on TikTok to announce medics had told her she had incurable colorectal cancer. She dropped out of university to begin her chemotherapy treatment.