WARNING: SOME READERS MIGHT FIND THE ATTACHED VIDEO UPSETTING
Inspirational Nicky Sansone died on Thursday, two weeks after throwing a party to celebrate her life when told of her terminal cancer.
She recorded her life with cancer on Tiktok and uploaded her last video just on Wednesday, urging her followers to “enjoy life, live, love, and smile”.
Lying in bed, she said it was her last video and thanked her followers before saying in a faint voice: "Live, love and smile".
Sansone, 55, told Times of Malta last week that she decided to throw a party in celebration of her life after being told she had weeks to live.
Doctors had told her they feared she might not make it to her birthday on August 24.
“We had to bring it forward because they don't think I will make it until then. It ended up being a bigger event with over 120 people. I was overwhelmed,” she had said.
Sansone was diagnosed with cancer in November and immediately resorted to TikTok to record her battle and her views of life, urging people to check out any symptoms immediately.
“Smile, live, love and enjoy life to the fullest,” was the message s
“For many people, it’s life-work-life-work. They forget to live. The world has become so sad. Enjoy life. Stop fighting. Stop complaining. Live. People worry about such stupid things. I did too," she said.
“Some people don’t cherish what they have until it’s gone. So, if you have something and it’s good focus on the good,” she said in an interview with Times of Malta from her bed at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre.
Sansone believed her first symptoms came three years ago, when she started losing weight. But back then she attributed the weight loss to the fact that she had cut alcohol from her life completely.
In November, she went for a swim with a friend and got so breathless that she had to get out of the water. She went to a doctor who sent her to get an X-ray immediately.
She went to hospital and tests showed that her lungs were full of water. She was diagnosed with stage 4 aggressive cancer and began chemotherapy. The cancer had spread and it was too risky to do anything.
That was when she decided to throw a party to celebrate her life.
Tributes for Sansone poured in as the sad news of her demise was announced. Most underlined her message: 'Live, love and smile."
The MGRM Malta Gay Rights Movement expressed its condolences to her partner and her family. "We will keep Nicky's memory alive by taking her advice, and "Live life, love and smile," the movement said.