1.9 Million On Instagram Followed Her Cancer Journey. At 14, She's Dead

1.9 Million On Instagram Followed Her Cancer Journey. At 14, She's Dead

For 11 years, Zuza Beine battled Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a devastating blood cancer that dominated most of her short life.

Diagnosed at just three and a half years old, Zuza experienced her first relapse at age eight—an unusual occurrence for someone so young. Throughout her journey, she endured multiple treatments, several relapses, three bone marrow transplants, and participated in three medical trials. Despite these challenges, she generously shared both the triumphs and struggles of her life with strangers online, teaching them about resilience and gratitude. On Monday, after a courageous fight, 14-year-old Zuza from Wisconsin passed away.

"She lived 11 of her 14 years with a relentless cancer, yet lived more fully and gratefully than most. Her being changed us forever, and her dying will too," her family announced on Instagram.

In what would become her final video, Zuza reflected on the things she was grateful for—simple pleasures many take for granted.

She expressed gratitude for being able to "taste the most delicious foods, do different hairstyles and her relationships and animals."

Her family believes this gratitude perfectly exemplifies "a testament to a life filled with both beauty and suffering."

"More than anything, she wanted to be a normal, healthy kid. But what made her life so beautiful was how she learned to face the hardest circumstances, like her disease, and still live fully," they wrote in tribute.

Zuza had become known for creating "Get Ready With Me (GRWM)" videos on Instagram. She would share her daily routines and treatment updates while demonstrating skincare, makeup, or hairstyles to her audience.

September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, during which Zuza regularly documented her experiences to raise awareness about pediatric cancer.

In a video posted two weeks prior to her passing, Zuza candidly discussed her "hard days," describing them as "real." She captioned the video, "Cancer isn't just strength, it's struggle too. And sometimes showing the lows makes someone else feel less alone." The footage included raw moments from hospital visits, showing her hair loss, skin peeling, and emotional breakdowns.

In one heartbreaking clip, Zuza can be heard crying, "I am in so much pain."

Her social media posts during her final weeks revealed her increasing suffering. She was "on morphine constantly" to manage her pain.

"I can barely walk right now I'm in so much pain," she wrote beneath a video showing her crying in agony as medications failed to provide relief.

During a question-and-answer session on Instagram, when asked about the worst aspect of having cancer, Zuza confessed it was "feeling different from other girls my age."

While most teenagers enjoy school and friendships, Zuza's adolescence was defined by hospital visits, treatments, and clinical trials.

"It is not being able to go to regular school because of my immune system (I don't have any friends that live by me), the fact that I basically had my childhood wiped away from me, the pain and suffering I have gone through, and not being able to feel like a normal teenager," she had explained.

When asked about hair loss due to cancer treatment, she shared, "The first time, I was too young to understand why it was happening, so I was confused, but all the other times (I can't even count how many times I've lost my hair), those were very hard for me."

In lieu of flowers, Zuza's parents requested her 1.9 million Instagram followers to consider making donations to support her uncle's widow and children.

"In lieu of flowers, we know Zuza would want any donations to go toward her recently dead uncle's wife and children. You can donate to Lauren Stieber and her family through GoFundMe."