Charlie Anderson-Read, 41, announced her own death in a pre-recorded Instagram video posted after she passed away on October 10.
The British blogger and mother died early that morning following a three-year battle with two cancers, pancreatic and cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer. Her account shared a clip that opened with text stating, “At 7:30 this morning, Charlie passed. She is now at peace. A few weeks ago, Charlie recorded a video to share with you all after her death.”
Anderson-Read then appeared on screen to deliver her final message to followers. “If you are watching this video, I am, unfortunately, no longer here,” she said in the posthumously published clip. “No, I haven’t kind of posted it from a different world. Someone has kindly posted this on my behalf, so thank you.”
She expressed deep gratitude for the community that had formed around her online presence. “I just wanted to say thank you to all of you guys,” she continued. “All of your messages and kind words have really helped me through what’s been a very difficult time. A lot of you have donated money to help out Louise and Florence for when I am no longer here and for that I’ll be forever grateful.”
The blogger had built a following by sharing her life after receiving a terminal diagnosis, connecting with others facing similar struggles and those who hoped she would beat the odds stacked against her. She is survived by her wife, Louise, and their 4-year-old daughter, Florence.
Anderson-Read reflected on the purpose of documenting her experience. “I hope through this being such a terrible situation for me, I hope that some of these videos have helped out at least some people,” she shared. “And through this whole ordeal, I have only come across people being kind to me, generous to me and it’s just shown me how much good there is in the world. I hope you guys can see it all now.”
She acknowledged the difficulty her journey had presented for viewers. “Any type of disease, terminal or whatever, is just absolutely awful, and I can only imagine what it’s been like for my friends and family and to people that have never met me, how hard it’s been to watch my journey,” she said.
Anderson-Read was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at 38 after noticing unusual physical symptoms during a stressful period. She had experienced a lack of appetite and felt what she described as a hardening “just below where my lungs are. It just felt like a hard muscle.” She clarified, “It was kind of a lump, but wasn’t really,” and noted that she then developed sharp pain. “It was quite painful to the point that I couldn’t stand up,” she recalled.
Doctors initially gave her just six weeks to live, but she defied that prognosis and survived for an additional two and a half years.
In her final recorded words, Anderson-Read emphasized gratitude over regret. “I’m so grateful for the life that I’ve led. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever,” she stated. “The only thing is I wish I’d stayed with my family for longer and seen Florence grow up. There are things like that that I wish I was here for, many thing I’ll miss. But there’s so much that I’ve experienced and I’ve been so lucky to have these extra 2 1/2 years.”
She closed with encouragement to those she left behind. “So, for the last time, take care everybody. I wish you all well. Keep fighting — don’t let my passing have any negative effect on people, or on you. Keep fighting, you’ve got this,” she said.
Early pancreatic cancer often goes undetected due to absent symptoms, though warning signs can include fatigue, jaundice, loss of appetite, back pain, nausea, vomiting and blood clots, according to the American Cancer Society.