13-year-old YouTube sensation dies from cancer

FLORIDA: A 13-year-old cancer patient who inspired millions with her charming makeup tutorials on YouTube died Tuesday.
Talia Joy Castellano, from Orlando, Florida, was fighting two forms of cancer — neuroblastoma and leukemia — but defied the disease with her perky video updates, many of which have been viewed nearly 1 million times.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share with all of you that Talia has earned her wings at 11:22am,” reads a message on her Facebook page, Angels for Talia. “Please send your love and prayers to her family during this most difficult time.”
In four hours, more than 40,000 people had commented.
Castellano was so beloved by fans that the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, where she died, had to ask well-wishers to stop calling, according to the Facebook page.
The ambitious teen revealed in a video last year that she declined a potentially life-saving bone-marrow transplant, instead opting to “just live the time I have remaining.” “Having cancer has been an amazing yet horrible journey,” she said. “Yet every journey has an end.”
Castellano was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer, in 2007. She learned about the leukemia last year.
Her Facebook page urges supporters to sign a petition to increase funding for childhood cancer research.
More than 700,000 people subscribe to Castellano’s YouTube channel, taliajoy18, where she posted updates about her health as well as cheery how-tos about nail art, eye shadow and lipstick. She was also working on a new teen fashion line called That Bald Chick, and had been named an honorary spokesperson by CoverGirl.
Castellano posted her last video on May 22, marking four straight weeks in the hospital. She discussed her recent anxiety, new medication and expressed an eagerness to get “back in the groove” with her makeup tutorials and updates.