A cancer influencer who initially dismissed her own symptoms has tragically passed away at 31.

Letícia Siqueira Oliveira was young and fit before receiving her diagnosis. She subsequently documented her experience on social media as she courageously fought the illness.

Her death was confirmed on March 17 by a friend in a video shared with her hundreds of thousands of followers. Fighting the tears, the pal said: "Last October, when Lê started stepping away from social media, just before that high-risk surgery, she asked me that if this happened, I should take her phone and make this video. I never thought this day would come, but it has."

Letícia, known as Lê to her friends, was 28 when she first felt a sudden need to use the toilet — but when she arrived at the bathroom, nothing happened. She thought it might be food intolerance or stress.

• Woman told 'you look healthy, you must be fine' by GP before bombshell diagnosis

• 'I had the same cancer as Mel Schilling — here are the biggest warning signs'

With so much happening in her life - her master's degree, home renovations, purchasing a flat, and wedding preparations — she disregarded her body's alarm signals. For at least five months, she attempted to control the symptoms herself with probiotics, medications, and dietary changes.

Young, fit, and with no previous medical history, the physio, from Santo Antônio da Platina, Brazil, never suspected it could be something severe. It was only when more apparent signs emerged — abdominal swelling, pain, and traces of blood in her stool — that she started to suspect an intestinal issue.

Even then, she put off visiting a doctor, as reported by creatorzine.com. When she eventually sought medical help, doctors found a tumour in her bowel at an advanced stage, with secondary growths in her ovaries and peritoneum.

Letícia underwent major surgery — including removal of part of her bowel, reproductive organs, and lymph nodes — and started chemotherapy, using a colostomy bag during her recovery.

In March last year, she shared an "open letter to my stoma", writing: "If there was a moment when I truly realised the gravity of everything, it was when I woke up with a piece of my intestine exposed - a huge cut, a drain, some organs, and several kilos lighter.

"That's when I lost any innocence about what I was living through. That's when I understood my life could be hanging by a thread. And ironically, it was also at that moment that I was reborn. The stoma forced me to learn from scratch something we're all born programmed to do without thinking, without worrying.

"Ah, stomas, you've made me furious many times over these 16 months, but I can't deny that you've taught me that I can live well and happily, even being different."

Letícia — a physiotherapist — was already receiving palliative care at 30. After marrying her fiancé in March last year, she told local media: "I am fully aware of my situation, but I also have a thirst for life.

"Today, I say yes to everything: trips, outings, concerts, friends' invitations. We can't live just for treatment." Her friend paid an emotional tribute, saying: "I want to tell you that Lê never gave up, that she stayed strong until the end - the strongest person I have ever known."