Cancer-stricken social media star schedules a heartbreaking final message for her fans on Instagram after she died
A woman who suffered from cancer has shocked the world after she announced that she had passed away from the deadly disease on the social media website, Instagram. Emily Hayward, who was from Canterbury, Kent, was terminally ill with cancer. She pre-made an Instagram post that was set to be published when she passed away. The message was made to inform all her 19.5k followers of the end of her battle with the disease. The post caption read: "What's going on guys? After 8 long years of kicking cancer in the a** my body got tired, I achieved everything I wanted to and more. With all my loved ones around me I have now peacefully left you all. Thank you all for your love and support, but most of all thank you for always following my journey and believing in me. Love you all, peace Em x".
The 24-year-old YouTube and Instagram star had gained thousands of followers on the social media site after she started vlogging about her almost decade-long epic battle with cancer. She was a personal trainer and has many images and videos of her working out in the gym. Hayward found out that she was suffering from the disease after a mole on her leg was discovered and then found out to be a malignant melanoma.
Hayward's YouTube channel was able notched more than 50,000 subscribers as she let the whole world know about her daily life with cancer and the struggles she had to go through after being diagnosed with it. She was told by the doctors that the cancer had spread from her leg all the way to her hip and brain in March. When she found out that the disease was now terminal, she decided to propose to Aisha Hasan, her partner of four years. The couple got married in a beautiful ceremony in April, just a few weeks after the proposal.
The 24-year-old had posted her final message on Instagram next to a photo of herself on her wedding day on June 6. Her wife, 26-year-old Aisha, wrote in the comments: "I love you so much em, you are my soulmate, you are everything I ever wanted, you may not be here but you will be in my heart forever so proud of you beautiful I love you."
Hayward went to the Chaucer School in Canterbury and used to work at the King's School Recreation Centre as a fitness instructor. The disease spread and got a lot worse after surgeons in London's Royal Marsden Hospital tried to remove the malignant mole from her leg. This was followed by more surgery which was not able to remove all the tumors fully. For two years she was able to live a normal life but then in 2013, a scan showed that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in her genitals.
In an interview with the Kent Online in November 2017, Hayward said: "I was a personal trainer at the time but I had to quit my job because of the further surgery. I guess it was the worst part of my journey. They took out the nodes and after that I felt so well for another two years and thought I had beaten it. But I also knew there was a chance the cancer would return and a scan in 2015 revealed it had, this time in my liver, lung and my brain. But one of the worst results of that was having to give up my driving license, which I hated."
After the brave 24-year-old got even sicker compared to before, she and Aisha decided to move to Bromley so that they could be closer to the Royal Marsden Hospital. Hayward was being given her chemotherapy treatment here. When talking about her skin cancer, she said: "I don't know how I got it. I'm not into sunbathing or sunbeds. I'm a massive tomboy and I guess I was just unlucky. But the last few years have been really tough and I'm not through it yet."
Hayward also got featured in Channel 4's series Stand Up To Cancer and said that after she shared her story on the series, a lot of viewers felt like it helped them through tough times. She also found the experience to be quite cathartic as she was able to share her story with many viewers. She said: "I have been told the Channel 4 screening about my vlogging has touched a lot of people. I just want to let people know what it's like to fight cancer and how I deal with it."
After Hayward's account posted the last message for the fans, the comments section has been flooded with words of gratitude for how her story has touched many people's lives. One user said: "I'm so sad. She had the most beautiful soul that radiated so much positivity and love in spite of everything she had to face. She will never be forgotten by so many people whose lives she touched and made better, just by being her. I don't even know her yet I felt she was my friend. Rest in peace amazing Emily. Strength and love to Aisha xxx"
Another user wrote: "Dear Emily, I didn't know you personally, but from watching your vlogs, it always felt like I did. You felt like a friend. Ever since I accidentally stumbled across your videos, I immediately felt you close, because you were always so raw and open about what you were going through on daily basis. Your energy and positive outlook on life were amazing. I couldn't believe how someone could smile and be so joyful while they're in the position you were in. Heard the bad news yesterday. My heart sank. I have never, ever been so invested in someone's life by just watching their videos. But yet, here I am, bawling my eyes out, and still absolutely can not wrap my head around the fact that you are gone. It feels like someone close to me has passed. It feels like grief. I just can not believe it. How can you be gone? You were so strong. This does not feel real...Rest in Heaven you beautiful soul. You will be missed."