A 26-year-old woman with terminal cancer who has become a viral star while bravely documenting her battle with the illness online has shared the devastating moment she broke down in tears while taking her first bath in over a year during a bucket list trip to Japan. 

Madison Baloy, from Tampa, Florida, was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer after going to the ER for what she thought was a common stomach bug.

After learning she had terminal cancer, the 26-year-old decided to turn the tragic situation into a positive by sharing her powerful journey on social media and keeping a smile on her face through chemotherapy. 

In addition to detailing her bucket list goals she wants to achieve before the end of her prognosis – which is five years – Madison has also given viewers a look at her life after being diagnosed, with her most recently sharing her excitement at being able to bathe after a year. 

The 26-year-old took to TikTok to share the tear-jerking moment she was finally able to take a bath. 

‘Hi my name is Madison and I have stage four terminal cancer, and I haven’t taken a bath in a year,’ she said at the beginning of the clip, which has so far amassed over 764,000 views. 

She added: ‘My cancer is in my large intestine, my small intestine, my uterus, my ovaries, basically the entire lower half of my body is filled up with cancer.  Because of that, I had to have an emergency surgery to receive a colostomy [bag].’ 

Madison noted that she is currently on a dream vacation in Kyoto, Japan – adding that the weather has been so cold that she has been ‘shivering.’ She explained that throughout the chill, all that’s been on her mind is a hot bath. 

As tears filled her eyes, she added: ‘The only thing that I can think of is how amazing a bath would feel. This house happens to have the most beautiful bath that I’ve ever seen. But because I have a colostomy, I haven’t taken a bath in a year.’ 

According to the American Cancer Society, a colostomy is an opening made during surgery in the abdominal wall in the belly. A colostomy changes the way your body passes stool.

Doctors will also add in a colostomy in which bodily waste is rerouted from its usual path because of malfunctioning parts of the urinary or digestive system.

It passes to a surgically created stoma on the abdomen into a prosthetic known as a ‘pouch’ or ‘ostomy bag’ on the outside of the body. It can be temporary or permanent. 

The 26-year-old noted that after she had her colostomy, she never imagined she would take a bath again because it would be too ‘messy.’ 

‘But I’m in Japan for a very limited amount of time. I’m here on Earth for a very limited amount of time, and I don’t want to be afraid to take a bath. So, come take a bath with me,’ she said as tears fell down her face. 

Then, the video cut to a clip of her in a bubble bath as she smiled from ear-to-ear. 

As she sat in the bath, she said: ‘I hope, in your life, you get to take a thousand baths. 

‘But in my life, I think this one can be enough.’ 

‘I love you,’ she said at the end of the clip as she covered her face with the soapy bubbles. 

Madison first went viral for sharing her diagnosis and the things she hoped to achieve on her TikTok account. 

By sharing her battle, Madison was met with a flood of support from people who offered to help her check off boxes from her bucket list – including the Hell’s Kitchen star Gordon. 

Following her diagnosis, Madison took to TikTok to share the nearly 20 things she was in a ‘hurry to finish.’

She said:  ‘Hi, my name is Madison. I have stage-four terminal cancer and this is in my bucket list. I’m in a hurry to finish it.’ 

Coming in at number one, Madison said she wanted to ‘see everything.’ 

She also revealed that she wanted to party in a DJ booth, learn how to roll a joint, have a wedding, get a tattoo with her grandma, sleep under a willow tree, be a podcast guest, and meet Gordon. 

In response to her clip, the 57-year-old chef said he would love to meet Madison, but didn’t want it to be any regular meet and greet. 

He said: ‘First of all, I’d like to fly you down to Miami, have dinner with you and your friends in Hell’s Kitchen and then the following night, Friday night, you’ll be our special guest at the opening of our new restaurant, Lucky Cat, in South Beach.’ 

Following their meet and greet, the chef added: ‘I hope you had the best time @madison in Miami! It was such an honor for you to be my VVIP last night at #LuckyCat! Thanks to everyone on TikTok too for helping making sure these dreams come true.’

Madison also shared her own Instagram post and gushed about the evening with the chef. 

Alongside a slew of snaps, she said: ‘The best night of my life! Thank you endlessly for giving me the biggest yes, Chef. ‘

The TV personality and cook added: ‘What an absolute pleasure, I’m so glad you had a great time, also it’s the first time I’ve ever danced in my kitchen, thanks.’ 

Madison began feeling symptoms last year while at a music festival with her friends. 

She tried to convince herself it wasn’t anything serious and chalked it up to IBS or Crohn’s.

Her stomach pain, nausea and exhaustion quickly became too much, and she went to urgent care. 

However, while there, a nurse informed her that all of her symptoms indicated she had cancer and suggested she go to an ER. 

It was there that they diagnosed her with stage-four colon cancer.   

She told USA Today that after receiving her diagnosis, she took to TikTok to find other people in her position and in hopes of reminding people who she was. 

‘I was really scared that people were only going to see me for cancer and forget who I was,’ she said. 

She noted that she wanted to tell the world she was still very much a ‘person’ and began documenting a day in her life online. 

Madison said that she had come to terms with the possibility of having cancer forever and was trying to make the best of the time she had. 

She said: ‘Whether I only live five years or if somehow I live 70 years, I will, at some point die with cancer in my body still.’