Nalie Agustin, whose cancer journey inspired thousands

Nalie Agustin, whose years-long battle with cancer touched the hearts of thousands of her supporters on social media and beyond, has died, according to her family. she is 33 years old

“On behalf of the Agustin and Thakrar families, we thank you for your support and love. We thank the great spirit for giving Nali life,” her family wrote on their Instagram page Tuesday night. The Montreal native was 23 years old when she began documenting her journey with early-stage breast cancer in 2013, and decided to take to YouTube to speak about her health challenges and inspire others with the disease.

She beat her battle with cancer, but four years later her cancer returned. This time it is the fourth stage. Despite the setback, Augustine hasn’t stopped her from continuing to tell her story in her own way. The outpouring of condolences on social media is a testament to the impact she has had on people’s lives.

“There are not enough words to describe the impact you left on everyone. Nalie, you are so loved and so missed. Thank you for touching with your strength, love and unicorn smile until we meet again All of us,” Karolina Victoria Jez wrote on Instagram. “I am overwhelmed. You have inspired so many of us to keep fighting no matter what life throws at us. You are a symbol of hope; you have shown us that anything is possible. RIP,” wrote Stephen Voice .

In 2017, in light of her second diagnosis, Agustin organized a live fundraiser in support of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and metastatic breast cancer research projects of her own choice. She told CTV News at the time that she cared more about delivering bad news to her supporters than losing her battle with cancer.

“I had chemo, I had a mastectomy, I had radiation, and then I was cancer-free. And then I had to come back three years later and tell all these people who saw me as a beacon of hope and tell them I had Relapsed. It came back,” she said in an interview. Augustine went on to tell her story. In 2019, she was one of the faces of Rihanna’s lingerie campaign, which selected young women battling breast cancer for her Savage X Thrivers clothing line. “Thank you for joining our mission to share the untold stories of metastatic breast cancer and give a voice to the unheard,” she wrote on Instagram, thanking the singer.

Last year, Augustine became a best-selling author, writing about her ups and downs with her diagnosis in “Nally’s Diary.” A graduate of Concordia University’s Communication and Cultural Studies program, the Filipino-Canadian openly shares her experiences on social media and introduces her own brand of inspiration to her more than 113,000 followers.