30-year-old influencer announces his own death after yearslong cancer battle

Yahoo

3 days ago

A 30-year-old influencer who documented his cancer journey online has announced his own death in a social media video.
Tanner Martin made the announcement in a video shared on his @tannerandshay Instagram account, which he shared with his wife Shay Martin.
"Hey, it's me, Tanner. If you're watching this, I am dead," Tanner Martin says in a video message posted Wednesday on his @tannerandshay Instagram account, which he shared with his wife Shay Martin.
"Everyone, I had a heck of a life," he continues. "I decided to make this video announcing my death because I saw someone did that, like, a year or so ago, and I think it's a good opportunity to get all your thoughts out, and then also, you can be thoughtful about what your spouse or your partner might need."
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Tanner Martin, who welcomed his first child with his wife in May, shared in a November 2020 Instagram video post that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer, a type of colorectal cancer, at the age of 25.
Colorectal cancer in young people has been on the rise in recent years. A 2024 report from the American Cancer Society noted that colon cancer has become the leading cause of death in men under 50, and the No. 2 cause of death in women in the same age group.
Shay Martin's father, Steve Wright, told "Good Morning America" his son-in-law died the morning of June 25 at home, in the basement apartment the couple rented inside his and his wife's Utah home, and said Tanner Martin's decision to share his own death announcement didn't surprise him at all.
"Tanner is, he's just the funniest guy. Whenever he would go on in their posts, he'd always go, 'Hi! It's me, Tanner.' Even when he was super sick, he wanted to just be very real," Wright said. "I hadn't seen [his video] until he went on hospice and then Shay showed it to me, and I just cracked up. I'm like, that's typical of Tanner."
Wright also remembered Tanner Martin as a "kind" person who would "always look for the good in others."
"He made you feel like you're the most important person in the room," Wright recalled. "He had this amazing laugh and smile and just would joke and just really make people feel like they were important. And that's just the way he was, even through ... the cancer treatments and surgeries and tests and infusions and everything, he was always very gracious with the doctors and the nurses and the aides and everybody that helped him."
The Martins shared photos and updates through the years about Tanner Martin undergoing multiple chemotherapy treatments, finishing treatment and even ringing the celebratory bell in June 2021.
In a November 2021 update, the couple announced that Tanner Martin's cancer had returned, and in a February 2023 post, they said doctors had told them his cancer was terminal.
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In addition to sharing Tanner Martin's cancer journey, the couple also opened up on social media about starting in vitro fertilization and announced they had welcomed a daughter named AmyLou on May 15.
In his final message, Tanner Martin thanked online followers who showed their support for him and his family and asked for prayers for Shay Martin and their child.
"But I love you guys, and seriously, thanks again for all your support and helping to make the last years of my life here on earth fun and enjoyable and helping me be comfortable. I love you guys," he says in the video, adding, "Be kind to each other, assume good intent in other people, and you guys will just have a happy life. And anyway, I love you. See ya."