TORONTO -- Mike Sloan, who spent the past several months using Twitter to share his honest depictions of living with terminal cancer, has died.
The 50-year-old London, Ont. man used the platform to connect with his 13,000 followers and touch on difficult subjects such as assisted suicide and palliative care -- all with a touch of humour.
On Monday, a on Sloan鈥檚 Twitter account, announcing that 鈥淢ike Sloan passed peacefully at 1:25pm EST via MAID (Medical assistance in dying).鈥�
Twitter user Bob Smith said Sloan had asked him to break the news to his followers. 鈥淚 was with him at the end, holding his hand. He thanks you all for your support on this journey. His last words were, 鈥楾ell Chub I love him.鈥欌��
The tweet was shared widely, prompting an outpouring of condolences. Even in his final days, Sloan was still updating his legion of supporters.
Sloan appeared to have been frustrated with shortness of breath and had wanted doctors to increase his medication. But he wondered if 鈥�.鈥�
Early Sunday morning, he 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see today looking good at all.鈥� And later that night, he , 鈥渏ust stay tuned all鈥︹�� no big deal though.鈥�
He鈥檇 been diagnosed with stage four anaplastic thyroid cancer last February -- an aggressive, treatment-resistant cancer with a low survival rate. Sloan had made the decision to forgo chemotherapy treatments and enjoy the rest of his life.
In his last weeks, he鈥檇 been and the surprising amount of support he鈥檇 received from people. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been humbling and feels great. Thanks to all of you,鈥� he tweeted last week.
SLOAN: 'I WAS A GROUCH' ON TWITTER
Several weeks ago, Sloan told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning about how he鈥檇 been a grouch online until he learned he only had a couple of months to live.
鈥淚鈥檝e been on Twitter for almost ten years and for many of those years I was a grouch. But with the news of what was happening with my life, I thought to myself, I've got to turn this around somehow,鈥� he said.
Sloan said sharing his experiences online was one of the ways of fulfilling his belief that, 鈥測ou can find something positive out of anything.鈥� That included using his platform to raise over $28,000 for an Ontario-based youth opportunities agency that builds youth and women鈥檚 shelters.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the positive legacies that have come from his,鈥� he said at the time.
With files from CTVNews.ca writer Nicole Bogart
