Photo: @DominiqueMcShain/Instagram
TikTok influencer Dominique McShain has died from colon cancer at the age of 21, PEOPLE confirmed on Wednesday (April 23).
McShain's death came after she posted a final message on her Instagram account telling her followers that she only had "a few days to a few weeks to live" as her liver was "failing rapidly to the point of jaundice" and her cancer was "progressing quickly" on April 6.
"To my dear friends and family, I want to be direct with you all: this will be my final update on my cancer journey until I have passed away," McShain wrote. "I've recently been given a prognosis about 5 days ago of only a few days to a few weeks to live. My liver is failing rapidly to the point of jaundice and the cancer is progressing quickly. Because of this, I'm no longer able to receive any treatments, including the chemo I've been on for 7 months over last year. At this point, I've transitioned into end-of-life care, focusing on pain relief and managing side effects, with so much time spent in both the hospital and hospice facilities."
McShain, who was based in New Zealand, began sharing posts on her TikTok account about her "terminal cancer journey to raise awareness" in May 2024, shortly after being diagnosed unexpectedly. The influencer got engaged to her boyfriend, Sean Suson, on her 21st birthday last May and the couple was married last July.
“I won the lottery with a family that loves me unconditionally, friends who would 10000% donate a liver to me or do anything they could (and probably argue over who gets to do it), and the sweetest husband, Sean, who’s been my rock through everything – before and after my diagnosis,” McShain wrote in one of her final Instagram posts.