Tanner Martin has passed away after a five-year battle with colorectal cancer. He and his wife welcomed their yearned-for child just 41 days before his death.

Tanner Martin entered the public eye when he began documenting his colorectal cancer journey with humour and grace after being diagnosed with the disease at the very young age of 25.

He and his wife, Shay, built up a strong community of followers who cheered them on through thick and thin, especially when they learned the couple were expecting a miracle baby.

Tanner and Shay, were enjoying their lives as newlyweds when he got the awful news that he had cancer in November 2020. He caught the attention of social media users as he chronicled his life living with the disease. His followers were probably just as happy as the couple were when they announced their baby joy; they will be devastated to learn of his untimely passing.

Tanner knew that he was living with a life-limiting illness. He was told in February 2023 that his cancer was incurable and that he would have only two to five years to live. His wife, Shay, explained to People in October 2024 that ‘the treatment he’s getting is to extend his life, not to achieve a cure, because we’re pretty far past that point.’

Tanner had been making the most of the time he had left by living his life to the full and making his ‘make a wish’ dreams come true (he met his hero, Luke Skywalker, aka the actor Mark Hamill), but his greatest desire was to be a dad.

The couple tried IVF, but sepsis and Tanner’s cancer progression prevented them from conceiving. However, it finally worked, and the couple announced the pregnancy in November 2024.

Their baby, a daughter they named AmyLou, was born in May 2025 to the ecstatic pair. They knew that Tanner would not have long with this daughter, but they were so glad he was there for her birth. They captioned her birth announcement with the bittersweet words, ‘Her daddy made it.’

Tragically, just 41 days after his daughter’s birth, Tanner died. He announced his own death on his social media channels with a pre-recorded video.

In it, he said, ‘Hey, it’s me, Tanner, if you’re watching this, I am dead.’

‘I had a heck of a life. 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.’

‘But you guys, life was awesome. I really enjoyed it while I was here.’

In a separate but connected video, Tanner gave instructions for his last wish, for his followers and friends to look after his wife and little girl now that he was gone.

In the video, he said, ‘I just want to know that Jiaozi [his nickname for AmyLou] and Shay will be okay.’ A GoFundMe was set up with funds raised through it to go ‘directly to helping Tanner’s two greatest loves, Shay and AmyLou, move forward with hope and security.’

In one extremely poignant comment on Instagram, a friend wrote, ‘Shay is not raising yall daughter all by herself. We got them. We will look over your girls for you.’