'Gorgeous' teenage influencer, aged 13, who shared her cancer journey with her Instagram followers has died

A teenage girl who shared her battle with cancer with her hundreds of thousands of Instagram family has died of the disease at the age of 13, her family have announced.

Lorena Torezan, age 13, who lived in Brazil, died on Wednesday morning (February 7), at Do Amor Hospital in Barreto, São Paulo. Torezan, who had 124,000 followers on her Instagram page @lorenatorezanviviani was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 10-years-old in 2020, and underwent chemotherapy to treat the illness, as reported by Brazilian news outlets.

Her Instagram biography, which is believed to have been updated by her family following her passing, now reads: "Our little star . . . Pass and the time that passes you will remain in our hearts."

After her diagnosis, Torezan decided to share the details of her treatment process online, becoming a young Instagram influencer as a result. She also showed glimpses in to her life as a youngster by uploading videos of her dancing, doing her make-up and posing with her boyfriend, 14-year-old Fabio Ferrasini.

Torezan reacted well to her treatment, but doctors later found a cancerous tumor behind the vena cava, a large vain that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body. Her cancer then advanced and spread to her uterus.

Torezan's mother, Adriana Lopes, paid tribute to her young daughter with a series of videos on her daughter's Instagram Stories on Thursday morning (February 8). She also posted more photos and videos this morning (Friday February 9). Another video posted directly to the page earlier today had the caption "Our little star is already shining next to God."

Another moving black and white video posted yesterday (Thursday February 8) showed Torezan sitting in a hair salon and smiling for the camera shortly after getting her head shaved. The video also shows Lopes giving her daughter a gift, who beamed as she accepted it, and then the pair embracing lovingly.

Lopes also reposted a video of Torezan performing a dance routine on TikTok with the caption: "Daughter, your joy, your unique way. you were light in our lives. You touched a lot of hearts, we are very proud of you, daughter."

Torezan's social media pages have been flooded with comments from her fans, who have shared their devastation at her death and also offered their condolences to her family. One person, writing directly to Lopes, said: "I am so so sorry. Just lost my son to cancer and we are mourning too. May God comfort us all and take good care of our beloved children, our little stars." Another said: "My condolences to all family and friends, may God comfort your hearts."

One other fan said: "She looked like such a gorgeous little girl." Another added: "May God keep you in a good place, you fought a lot and now you rest. I wish peace to your family, my condolences." One other person shared their wish for the future while also offering their sentiments: "A dream, one day cancer will be just a (star) sign... A lot of light in your passage, may God collect your family."