29-year-old with terminal cancer is completing a 'living list' in the time she has left

Clare Sacco is just like any other woman in her late 20s who has plans to tick off items from her bucket list. However, she doesn't have all the time in the world. Sacco has been battling stage 4 incurable breast cancer. The 29-year-old who works as a marketing and events manager has been trying to complete her bucket list in the limited time doctors have given her in the world, per PEOPLE. “It’s much harder than it looks,” she said about her dream of solving a Rubik's Cube someday.

There is a small difference between her bucket list and those of other people. Sacco likes to call her bucket list a "living list" where she had listed down a collection of must-do activities after getting her cancer diagnosis in March 2022. “The most common name is obviously ‘the bucket list.’ But my list is about living life to the fullest, as opposed to completing things before I die. So that's why I called it a ‘living list,’ because it’s about living and living life to the fullest,” the Newcastle resident added.

One important thing on her list is to get married to her fiancé Alex whom she has known since she was 11. Alex proposed to Sacco in May 2022 and gave her a ring. “He feels good about the list. Some of the things are so simple, I suppose. And some of them are more adventurous,” she said. Sacco is determined to learn how to juggle and go stargazing which is planned for later in 2023. The adventure-loving 29-year-old also looks forward to a lot of travel.

From snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to driving Route 66 in the United States to visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando and appearing on a game show, Sacco would like to do it all. “I wanted to look at it as a series of things that would make me happy, make amazing memories,” she told PEOPLE. “As opposed to ticking things off that I felt like I should achieve in my life."

Sacco has not received any "ballpark" after her diagnosis and she didn't ask for one either. “It's very likely that that lump had been there for quite a long time but because I was so young. I'd never even researched how to check for lumps,” Sacco recalled her initial diagnosis at the age of 25. However, after undergoing chemo and radiation she was given the "all clear." The doctors told her that her cancer had returned after she started experiencing fatigue and breathlessness.

“I had multiple tumors in my lungs and in my liver,” she continued. “I’m feeling okay. There was no reason why I should have been diagnosed so young.” According to the Cleveland Clinic, when breast cancer metastasizes —  or spreads elsewhere in the body and there isn’t a cure. After her diagnosis, Sacco started her TikTok account to document her cancer treatment journey. “I just wanted to make people aware that they still need to be checking their bodies, and it is still a possibility, even if they're only in their twenties,” Sacco shared.

“I'm going on my honeymoon next year,” Sacco remarks about how it is one of the biggest items to accomplish on her living list and plans to do all the fun things and make great memories with her fiance during the time she has left. The couple has planned to go jet skiing in the Caribbean next year on their honeymoon cruise. “The most important thing is young people know that it might not be publicized, but you can get breast cancer,” she added. “There’s a possibility that if it had been caught sooner, I wouldn’t be in this position where it’s incurable.”

Meanwhile, she continues to spread awareness about her incurable ailment through her TikTok account. Many people left Sacco words of encouragement on her TikTok page. @sandrasteven1 wrote: "Don't give up lovely keep fighting. I've been recently diagnosed with a rare cancer for my age Apendacites cancer and I don't know the stage yet." @juliedrennan8 commented: "My friend lived 19 years with cancer. She was in stage 4. Keep your faith." @keepinganopenmind added: "Keep fighting and make sure you control your own timeline. I see fire in you so use it." We will continue following her inspirational journey on her social media.