TikToker MacKenzie Paul Passed Away After Cancer Battle

MacKenzie Paul, a 26-year-old TikToker and former medical student, has passed from acute myeloid leukemia. This was after she went viral on TikTok for sharing her cancer journey in August 2023.

The news was broken by her husband, Brandon Paul, in an emotional video on Facebook in January 2026.

When Paul was first diagnosed, she was 23 and in her second year of studies as a medical student at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. In an interview with People, she shared that she felt faint during a clinical rotation and eventually passed out. Still, she dismissed the episode as nothing more than the result of poor diet and sleep.

Paul was prompted to consult her doctor after another bout of dizziness the following week. Seven weeks later, on August 17, 2023, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Paul’s cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, is an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow, characterized by the overproduction of abnormal white blood cells. According to the National Cancer Institute, it is the most common type of leukemia in adults. Early signs and symptoms are similar to the flu and include fever, fatigue, weakness, and easy bruising or bleeding.

To treat her cancer, Paul underwent chemotherapy and stem cell transplants, later participating in clinical trials to lower her cancer cell count. She also had surgery to remove one ovary to preserve her fertility.

Unfortunately, Paul had a relapse and succumbed to cancer despite the extensive treatments. In November 2025, she told People how she had no idea how truly challenging her cancer journey would be, and that she never imagined that, more than two years later, she would still be fighting for her life and a miracle.

Throughout her cancer journey, Paul refused to let her diagnosis define her. With her daily campaign, #TakingBackWhatCancerTookFromMe, she invited the world into her journey, turning vulnerability into resilience. Whether she was creating “mantra” art through My Mantra Project or publishing her book, A Book of Poems Written by a Cancer Patient, Paul consistently used her voice and creative works to reclaim her narrative. As she shared during her book launch on September 16, 2025, writing was not just a hobby but a lifeline that saw her through her most challenging days.