Remembering 'AGT' Contestant Nightbirde, 31, An Inspiration to Cancer Warriors Everywhere

People who loved Nightbirde have started to remember the beloved songstress on social media, including AGT hosts Howie Mandel and Terry Crews.

Mandel wrote on Twitter, "@_nightbirde was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives.we must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics. As much as I feel horribly about her passing, I feel lucky to have met, heard and known her."

@_nightbirde was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives.we must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics. As much as I feel horribly about her passing I feel lucky to to have met, heard and known her.

Howie Mandel (@howiemandel) February 21, 2022

Crews shared the news to Instagram on Monday morning as well, writing, “We are saddened to learn about @_nightbirde’s Passing. Our Condolences goes to her Closest Family & Friends in such of This difficult time. We Love you, Nightbirde ⚡️”

 

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A post shared by Terry Crews (@terrycrews)

The replies are beginning to pour in, many saying they are “absolutely heartbroken” by the news.

An Inspiring Legacy

The singer ​​was known for her bright eyes, endearing smile and songbird voice among other things. But perhaps one of the loveliest qualities of this resilient cancer warrior was her ability to always find light in the dark.

To honor her life, and inspire others going through a cancer battle, SurvivorNet compiled some of the most inspiring quotes the singer/songwriter has shared with the world.

Here are 10 of our favorite Nightbirde quotes so her legacy can continue to live on:

• "Lots of highs and lows, but you know that's how it goes," she sang in her original new song “New Year's Eve.”
• "How rare a miracle it is to even be alive," she wrote on Instagram on Dec. 3, 2021.
• "If we only take the miracles that taste sweet, I don't think we'll ever taste one. If we wait until we have the perfect song, I don't think we'll ever sing. Don't miss it it's now. We are in the miracle, we are in the dream," she posted to Twitter on Nov. 17, 2021.

If we only take the miracles that taste sweet, I don't think we'll ever taste one. If we wait until we have the perfect song, I don't think we'll ever sing. Don't miss itit's now. We are in the miracle, we are in the dream. #seejanewin #stillgotdreams #nightbirde #itsOk

nightbirde (@_nightbirde) November 17, 2021

• "If something so impossibly catastrophic and unimaginably awful can happen, then doesn't that also mean something impossibly beautiful and impossibly redemptive can happen?" she shared to Twitter on Oct. 7, 2021.
• "Don't you wanna see what happens if you don't give up?" she posted to Twitter on Sept. 30, 2021.
• "Some people will call it "blind denial" but I prefer to call it REBELLIOUS HOPE," she wrote on Sept. 7, 2021.
• "I'm pretty beat up but I still got dreams," she posted to Twitter on Aug. 27, 2021.

⚡️I'm pretty beat up but I still got dreams ⚡️

nightbirde (@_nightbirde) August 27, 2021

• "It's important that everyone knows I'm so much more than the bad things that happen to me," Nightbirde said during her America's Got Talent audition.
• "We're all a little lost, and it's alright," she sang in her original song “It's Okay.”
• "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy," she said after singing for her AGT audition.

Nightbirde's Breast Cancer Battle

Nightbirde began her battle with breast cancer in 2017 when a 4-centimeter tumor was discovered in her breast. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy a surgery to remove the breasts for treatment.

But her world turned upside down on New Year's Eve (which also happens to be her birthday) in 2019; she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Her doctors discovered multiple tumors on her liver, lungs, lymph nodes, ribs and spine. She was told she had three to six months to live, but she surprised doctors with her strength.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also reports that breast cancer mostly occurs among older women, but it is possible for women under the age of 45 like Nightbirde to be diagnosed with this type of cancer.

Aggressive Breast Cancer in Young Women

In fact, about 9% of all new breast cancer cases in the U.S. are found in women younger than 45. Nightbirde was one of those young women; when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, she was just 29 years old.

In some ways, a breast cancer diagnosis for a younger woman can often be even more devastating, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told SurvivorNet during a previous interview. This is because the cancer is likely to be a more aggressive form of the disease and also at an advanced stage (like Nightbirde), as screening for younger women is not standard.

"Young women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer that is more aggressive," Partridge said. "Their disease is more likely to be of the subtypes of breast cancer, because breast cancer isn't one disease the ones that are more aggressive and tend to be what we call a greater stage. That is, they're more likely to have bigger tumors and more likely to have lymph node involvement at diagnosis than older women."

Contributing: Abigail Seaberg

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