A 22-year-old woman, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour and given just nine months to live, turned to Reddit for advice on how to spend her $24,000. It's the money she had originally set aside for university. Now, she is asking the internet how best to spend it on herself as the doctors have predicted that she may live for nine more months.
“I am 22 (f) and I just learned last week that I have a terminal brain tumour…the doctor gave me 9 months at most to live,” she wrote on Reddit's r/Advice forum, adding, “I want to spend all the money before I die.”
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She briefly considered leaving the money to her siblings, but quickly realised she had never lived for herself. “I don't go out, I don't do substances, I hardly buy nice clothes. I have never smoked or touched alcohol,” she wrote.
That clarity pushed her to seek ideas for a final, personal indulgence. “I just want to give myself a parting gift,” she added.
Here's her complete post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Advice/s/96gcuBOfZs
Her post struck a chord with many Reddit users. What followed was an outpouring of support and recommendations, and a few users also urged her to reconsider her diagnosis. Many also advised her not to waste her money on luxury.
“First things first, get two more second opinions,” one user advised. “My old neighbour was told he had the same thing…second opinion told him if he had gotten an accurate opinion in the beginning, they could've done something about it.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Advice/comments/1m2ga4n/comment/n3orisu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Another user added, “I would spend that money to go to the Mayo Clinic and get a second opinion…cousin had a brain tumour & the first place said they couldn't do anything. Mayo was able to treat him & he's doing well!”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Advice/comments/1m2ga4n/comment/n3oqcpq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
One particularly striking comment came from a user who knew a person misdiagnosed with cancer and given less than a year to live. The user wrote, “They quit their job and blew through nearly $300k of their life savings in a year doing absolutely everything imaginable. A year went by and they didn't die. They went to another doctor and had a bunch of tests done…they learned it was a false positive.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Advice/comments/1m2ga4n/comment/n3pyuz4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Beyond the medical advice, many responses focused on how to make the most of her money and remaining time.
“Don't spend it on things, buy experiences,” one user wrote.
Another comment read, “Throw big parties and spend quality time with my loved ones. It brings everybody together, you won't be forgotten as easily and it just brings more love.”
Personal finance conversations often centre around saving for retirement, investing wisely or planning for major life events. Rarely do we talk about what happens when time itself becomes the scarcest resource. This young woman's story has left many social media users emotional.
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