A brave 14-year-old girl who inspired millions by sharing her near-lifelong battle with cancer has died, her heartbroken family announced on her social media pages.
Zuza Beine, who gained millions of followers documenting her pain and struggles with leukemia over the final years of her life on Instagram and TikTok, died on Monday morning.
“She lived 11 of her 14 years with a relentless cancer, yet lived more fully and gratefully than most. Her being changed us forever, and her dying will too,” her family wrote with a photo of the smiling teenager.
“More than anything, she wanted to be a normal, healthy kid. But what made her life so beautiful was how she learned to face the hardest circumstances, like her disease, and still live fully,” they added.
Zuza, a Wisconsin native, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia — a type of blood cancer that stems from bone marrow — when she was just 3 years old, according to her posts. She appeared to have beaten the cancer five times, just for it to keep coming back.
She spent more than a decade undergoing often painful treatments, including three bone marrow transplants and rounds of chemotherapy.
She racked up millions of followers on social media when she decided to share her journey, often showing her sobbing through the pain.
Just days before she died, Zuza revealed that she had been feeling particularly sick having just returned from a 2-day hospital stay.
“Lately, my health has not been the best physically and mentally. I’ve been in so much pain lately. I’m constantly on pain medicine because my body hurts so, so so bad.”
Her family said they think her attitude was best captured in her final post, where she shared what she was thankful for.
“Being diagnosed with cancer has made me deeply grateful for the everyday things that many people often take for granted,” she wrote.
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