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Bailey Jean Matheson’s Obituary Is Going Viral After She Died Of Cancer At Age 35

This 35-Year-Old's Obituary Is Going Viral
  • After Bailey Jean Matheson died of cancer at age 35, she wrote an inspirational obituary that has since gone viral.
  • In the obituary, she urges people: "Dont take the small stuff so seriously and live a little."
  • Read her full inspirational obituary below.

"Dont take the small stuff so seriously and live a little."

This is the closing line of the obituary of Bailey Jean Matheson , a 35-year-old woman who died of a rare cancer on April 5. After Matheson's obituary, which she wrote herself, was published on Inmemoriam.ca , it first went viral in Canada (where she was from) and is now reaching people all over the world with its inspirational message. The gist? No matter how long you've got on this planet, make the most of it.

Just as it ends, Bailey's obituary opens with a touching message: "35 years may not seem long, but damn it was good!" Knowing she had just two years to live after her cancer diagnosis, Bailey declined treatment and decided to spend her remaining time living life to its fullest. Throughout the obituary, Bailey thanked her family and friends for their constant love and support.

In 2017, Matheson was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma , a rare cancer that affects muscle tissue. In her obituary, Bailey made sure to note her love for her friends, and how they helped her through her disease. As an only child, she wrote that she'd always cherished her friendships more than anything. "I never thought I could love my friends more than I did but going through this and having your unconditional love and support you have made something that is normally so hard, more bearable and peaceful," she wrote. "Thank you and I love you all so much."

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Bailey also acknowledged her boyfriend, Brent, who she met on a dating app just three months before her diagnoses. She sweetly referenced their unusual circumstances in her obituary when she wrote, "You had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you swiped right that day." Then, she continued, "I couldn't have asked for a better man to be by my side for all the adventures, appointments, laughs, cries and breakdowns. You are an amazing person and anyone in your life is so fortunate to know you. I love you beyond words."

Matheson's full obituary reads:

"35 years may not seem long, but damn it was good!" To my parents, thank you for supporting me and my decisions throughout my life. I always remember my mom saying losing a child would be the hardest loss a parent could go through. My parents gave me the greatest gift of supporting my decisions with not going through chemo and just letting me live the rest of my life the way I believed it should be. I know how hard that must have been watching me stop treatment and letting nature take its course. I love you both even more for this. To my friends, being an only child, I've always cherished my friendships more than anything because I've never had siblings of my own. I never thought I could love my friends more than I did but going through this and having your unconditional love and support you have made something that is normally so hard, more bearable and peaceful. Thank you and I love you all so much. To my Brent, you came into my life just three months before my diagnosis. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you swiped right that day. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be by my side for all the adventures, appointments, laughs, cries and breakdowns. You are an amazing person and anyone in your life is so fortunate to know you. I love you beyond words. I am survived by my loving parents, Wendy (Foxwell) and Sandy (John Alexander) Matheson; my amazing and caring boyfriend, Brent Andrews and family; my wonderful pets, Rosella, Cat, Peyton (Boo Boo) and Harley; my great group of friends; my aunt, Sharon MacIntyre and family, my aunt, Paulette Novacco and family, and my uncle, Ted Foxwell and family. I am predeceased by my maternal grandmother, Lillian Clark; paternal grandparents, Elsie (Matheson) MacKenzie and Alex Matheson. Thank you for all the support, donations, fundraisers, food, messages and calls over the past two years. It means the world to me. A special thank you to my Aunts, Sharon and Paulette, for being supportive and thank you to all my doctors, my palliative care team, all my VONs, my social worker, and East Coast Naturolpathic. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Melanies Way or Young Adults Cancer Canada. Details regarding the Celebration of Life will follow at a later date. "Dont take the small stuff so seriously and live a little."

Bailey's obituary has touched people all over the world. One commenter on her obituary, a mother living on Maui, Hawaii, wrote that while she'd never met Bailey, she was moved by her words and her gesture. "Im the mother of two daughters myself. And I wanted to thank her parents, from the bottom of my heart, for having raised such a beautiful spirit," the stranger wrote. "Aloha beautiful Bailey Matheson. You now know the answer to lifes greatest question. Rest In Peace."

Another wrote, "I did not know your daughter but... she sounds like an amazing human being. You must have been so proud of her and distraught with the news and what happened after. I send you my very best and it may seem impossible but I don't think I'll ever forget her. The way she communicated in her obituary with such love an appreciation is beyond words."

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"Few times in your life do you find someone with so much love and grace," still another person tweeted . Though Bailey may not be here to see it happen, it's clear her message will live on in all that read it.

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