A 25-year-old woman announced her own death on LinkedIn after battling a rare form of cancer.

Daniella Thackray, an HR professional from Leeds, had her family post an update that she wrote in advance of her death due to cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer.

Cholangiocarcinoma is when abnormal cells in the bile ducts – which are small tubes that connect the liver and gallbladder to the small bowel – start to divide and grow in an uncontrolled way, eventually forming a mass of cells that can invade and destroy healthy body tissue.

In Ms Thackray’s post, which has gained nearly 40,000 likes since it was posted last week, she wrote about how she “loved my life” despite getting “this horrid cruel disease”.

“If you’re reading this then it means I have died from my battle with cancer and my family are posting my final message on my behalf,” the message started.

“Firstly, I just want to say that not all cancers are caused by lifestyle choices, in some cases it’s genetics or unfortunately it just happens,” it continued.

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“In my case, despite me being very healthy and active, a cancer started in my bile ducts which was not caused by anything in my control and my life was never the same again.”

She said she hoped more research could be done on bile duct cancer “so that more lives can be saved”.

In England, around 2,800 people are diagnosed each year, according to Cancer Research UK.

“So with that being said, although we can’t control what happens to us, we can control how we react,” Ms Thackray wrote.

“I chose not to mourn the life I was losing despite being so devastated, but to instead enjoy every moment I had left.

“As I have always said and believed you should enjoy the little things in life and cherish every moment!

She told readers to “do whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone take the joy of life away from you”, adding “everything I had achieved was what I wanted”.

She paid tribute to her fiance, her family, her friends, dog and her job, adding: “So thank you everyone for making my life so magical.”

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“Remember what I said about enjoying the little things,” she concluded, adding an uplifting quote from Disney character Winnie the Pooh and once again professing her love for her finance.

Almost 3,000 LinkedIn users have commented on Ms Thackray’s post, with many opening up about how her words resonated with them.

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