A mother with terminal cancer who went viral after releasing a song to support her seven-year-old son has opened up about her brutal physical decline while in a hospice.
Singer and songwriter Cat Janice, 31, from Washington, D.C., was diagnosed with sarcoma – cancer of the bones or soft tissue – in early 2022.
She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation – all while she continued to record and release new music – and was told she was cancer-free in July 2022.
But in June 2023, the mom-of-one announced via social media that the disease had come back, this time in her lungs.
Singer and songwriter Cat Janice, 31, from Washington, D.C., has opened up about her brutal physical decline while in a hospice
The artist decided to release a ‘farewell song,’ called Dance You Outta My Head, as one final bid to raise money for son Loren
Cat has now revealed how she feels ‘trapped in a near lifeless body’ while receiving palliative care.
After a long battle with the horrific illness, Cat revealed last month that ‘cancer had won’ and that she only had a few ‘weeks or months’ left.
The artist then decided to release a ‘farewell song,’ called Dance You Outta My Head, as one final bid to raise money for son Loren.
In her latest video, Cat duetted with content creator Sarah Cothran who she had asked to perform a ‘haunting cover’ of the track.
The mom-of-one then issued a harrowing update about her condition, writing: ‘It’s been so hard for me to go through this and all these videos and covers and all your support has made it easier and I can’t thank you enough.
‘I’ve always been strong so spending weeks unable to walk has left me feeling trapped.
‘But this helped me remember when I get to heaven I’m going to dance with God and soar above the clouds. I cannot wait.’
Fighting back tears, she concluded: ‘I won’t be stuck in this body anymore. I’ll be dancing again. I hope to see you all there.’
@cat.janice#duet with @Sarah Cothran ive been stuck slowly passing, unable to move, cannot use my legs, trapped in this near lifeless body. Cancer is no joke and never plays nice. But this beautiful moment helps me remember that soon I’ll be flying through the heavens, soaring through the next dimension, dancing with God and my Nonnie. I’ll finally be free and boy am I gonna dance. My baby boy will having all these wonderful memories as well thanks to you all. Thank you Sarah ❤️ I hope to see you all up there one day ❤️ #coversong #danceyououttamyhead #heaven #dancing #god
♬ original sound – Sarah Cothran
She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation – all while she continued to record and release new music – and was told she was cancer-free in July 2022
Cat elaborated further in the caption as she wrote: ‘I’ve been stuck slowly passing, unable to move, cannot use my legs, trapped in this near lifeless body.
‘Cancer is no joke and never plays nice. But this beautiful moment helps me remember that soon I’ll be flying through the heavens, soaring through the next dimension, dancing with God and my Nonnie.
‘I’ll finally be free and boy am I gonna dance. My baby boy will having all these wonderful memories as well thanks to you all.’
The mom initially took to Instagram on January 5 with a candid post that read: ‘There’s no easy way to say this [but] my time on this beautiful Earth is coming to an end [in] weeks or months, I’m not sure.’
Cat, who tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend days before, continued, ‘I’m just so thankful I got to spend the last week in my own beautiful wedding to the love of my life.
‘You never know what life will throw at you. One minute you’re slow dancing in the arms of your husband and incredible baby boy… the next minute you’re in the hospital and hearing the news.
‘I am not scared because I know I have so many loved ones around me and I’m going to be with my maker.
‘But one thing I wanted to do before I go is put out one more song for my birthday, praying I make it to my birthday.
‘I am leaving all proceeds from it to my son who is very musically inclined, hoping to give him the boost in music he will need later in life.
‘I hope it brings you as much joy and dancing feet as it has for me. I want to leave behind smiles, grooves, and joy for you and I know this is the right song for that.
‘I love you all and will try to keep you updated but sometimes it is hard. Thank you for loving me and my music all these years.’
In June 2023, the mom-of-one announced via social media that the disease had come back, this time in her lungs
On January 23, Cat revealed that the song had gone to number five on the Apple iTunes world chart and had reached ‘number one in multiple countries’
Cat has also previously posted about her journey on her TikTok, and the video quickly went viral, gaining a whopping 22 million views and sparking an array of love and support from people all across the world.
In an update on January 10, the singer revealed that she was home in hospice care, but that the tumors had ‘tripled overnight.’
She said in another clip that she was desperate to make it to the song’s release on January 19, and would ‘crawl to her radiation’ if she had to.
‘I changed all the rights from my songs so every pre-save and every stream goes to Loren,’ she added.
‘It would mean the world if you pre-saved the song. I don’t know if I’ll make it four days to the song release but I can’t appreciate y’all enough. I might not be here but my baby boy will be.’
Cat was still here when the tune dropped, and shared an emotional video commemorating its release.
‘I can’t believe this is happening today but it is. The song has come out,’ she said.
‘I hope you guys are enjoying it and having a ton of fun dancing. I’m in my hospice bed but that’s OK because you guys are making me so happy.
‘I’ve gotten hundreds of thousands of streams and messages and likes and comments, and I just so thankful for you all.
‘I hope you have a lot of fun [listening to it] because we have a lot of reasons to celebrate.’
While previously discussing her diagnosis, Cat explained that she ‘noticed a lump in her neck’ in November 2021 but ‘didn’t think anything of it’
On January 23, Cat revealed that the song had gone to number five on the Apple iTunes world chart and had reached ‘number one in multiple countries.’
‘I am in complete shock,’ she wrote. ‘I am beyond blessed to share this news with you all and cannot thank you for more love.’
While previously discussing her diagnosis, Cat explained that she ‘noticed a lump in her neck’ in November 2021, but ‘didn’t think anything of it’ because she had just recovered from COVID-19 and thought that one of her lymph nodes were swollen.
‘Fast forward to March 2022, I was studying for an exam – when I’m anxious I rub my neck and I noticed the lump was still there,’ she said.
‘It was larger and very hard. It did not move and it did not hurt. Immediately, I was like something is off about this.
‘I had no other symptoms, in fact, I had literally just had blood work done because I had COVID long-haul problems, but my blood work looked fine.
‘I was not sick I was just kind of tired. I really didn’t have any other symptoms beyond this weird lump.’
She added that the only other thing she noticed was that she had severe back pain that felt like ‘knots under her shoulder blade.’
‘I was constantly having to get my back rubbed and go to massages because they were so tight. Turns out that the tumor was actually in my scalene muscle,’ she explained.
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue8KroKadX5uyrq3LnmShoZederSvx6impWWkmq6ktMSrZJygop7AtbXNnmSkpqWZwKa6jLCfqGWYlrFuv8SxZLChpJ16coOMspyaql2kuaV5xZ6kmqSVYsC1wcOepa1lkau8qrDSZqeroaOku26txa2cq2WWpL%2BusdFmp66omaHAbr%2FEp6tmpJWpwaa%2B0maqrqigpL%2B1tc2gZKGdomLBsHnToZxmoqWZtKZ7