Tanner Martin, the Utah dad who went viral for documenting his journey after receiving a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis at 25, has died.
Martin’s wife, Shay Wright, announced his death June 25 when she shared a video message of Martin speaking to followers that he filmed prior to his passing.
“First, I want to say thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown me and my little family, “ said Martin, who appeared sitting on a sofa alongside the couple’s newborn daughter, AmyLou.
He then asked followers if they would consider donating to a GoFundMe to help Wright raise their daughter alone.
“The GoFundMe is to help replace what I would be there for,” he explained. “It will help replace my income. It will help pay for babysitting. It will help for her school, for her wedding. All of these things that normally Shay and I would do together.”
Martin, whose wife announced he’d entered hospice less than a week ago, concluded the video by thanking followers again and blowing kisses to the camera.
Wright wrote in her caption, “Tanner’s last wish. He joked while making this ‘for the price of a McChicken you could fund my AmyLou’s legacy fund.’”
Martin was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in November 2020 when he was 25. A little more than two years later, in February 2023, Martin’s doctors told him his cancer was incurable and estimated he had two to five years to live, the couple told People in an October 2024 story.
Despite his terminal diagnosis, Martin and Wright were determined to start a family together, and in November 2024, they announced they were expecting their first child.
“Cancer has taken so much from us,” the couple wrote in text over a video they shared on TikTok.
“I know you wanted to be a dad so badly, but I got to see you be the best dog dad. We tried IVF and planned to have a baby, but sepsis and your cancer progressing prevented us. Until now,” the video read.
The video concluded by showing the expectant parents each holding copies of a newspaper with a headline reading, “Breaking News: Baby on the Way!”
“Baby Martin: June 2025,” the video read.
The couple revealed in a follow-up video the same month that they used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant due to Martin’s health.
Martin opened up in a March 2025 Instagram video about the heartbreak that came from knowing he would not be alive to see his daughter become an adult.
“The hardest thing about having a kid right now is knowing the chance I won’t see them grow up,” he said. “And I know that’s the risk you take, having a kid when you have cancer, but I was just always excited to be a dad.”
The same month, Martin and Wright talked to People about experiencing a mix of emotions about the impending arrival of their little girl.
“It’s interesting because usually when people get pregnant they only have excitement for the future. While we are definitely excited, we are also experiencing grief, fear and anxiety,” Wright, who works as a mental health therapist, told the publication.
She added, “This was a massive decision for us that took a couple years to decide.”
On May 15, the couple announced the birth of their daughter, AmyLou. “Her daddy made it,” Wright captioned an Instagram carousel, adding the hashtag #miracles.
A little more than a month later, on June 21, Wright announced that Martin had made the “brave decision” to enter hospice to “better manage his pain and discomfort.”
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