Therapist's posts beautiful message about the importance of community as she loses battle to cancer

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases. It affects millions across the world. Individuals affected by this disease need an immense support system. New York psychologist and author, Sarah Mandel found this support in her social media followers. Unfortunately, she recently lost her battle with cancer but has a heartbreaking message for her supporters. She posted in a TikTok video on June 1, Saturday, in which she announced her death, which left her family shocked. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2017.

The 1-minute 48-second video started with Mandel telling her husband, "I made a wish" and then was seen blowing a candle and again turning to her partner to say, "I love you." The text overlay read, "If you're reading these words right now, then I have died." The video went on to show a picture of the author in the hospital with her arms up and the text read, "I wrote this message the week I was told I had weeks to months to live." She then wrote, "Only a year ago, I never in a million years would have thought I would want my death announced on social media." She added, "I had to be convinced to create an author page." These words were written along with a picture of her holding her book, "Little Earthquakes."

The 42-year-old went on, "Life is unpredictable and full of surprises. The support I found on this platform helped me face the toughest days of this cancer ordeal." In the next clip, Mandel had a video of her family where her kids are seen playing and others are enjoying their time together. The text overlay read, "It's no joke that we need people to help us." She then thanked everyone who took care of her during this time. "My heart felt like it grew exponentially from the care I received from old friends, new friends, and strangers. Thank you for holding my hand throughout this one example of a challenging life story," she wrote.

The next frame had a picture of her facing mountains near a river. The text overlay read, "We all have our versions. We all need our hands held sometimes." After this, she shared how upset she felt for leaving her kids and husband Derek behind. Along with some family photos and videos, she wrote, "I am heartbroken that I am leaving this life well before my plans. Most of all because of my girls and my beloved Derek."

Mandel continued, "I'll write it here, and if I could, I'd write it everywhere. Sophie and Siena, I love you and I am so proud of you. I may be somewhere beyond our concepts of infinity. That's how much I love you." She ended with a clip of her reading from a book, "We are creatures who crave certainty but life it turns out is a study of uncertainty." The video caption talked about the extraordinary life she had and mentioned how she passed away.

It read, "Our dear Sarah died peacefully in her sleep last night. She was thankfully very calm and comfortable in her final restful days. Throughout her life, she spent her final night surrounded by love. She was cuddled up with her girls, Siena and Sophie, just hours before she died. From end to end, Sarah’s life was a work of art—a masterpiece—and her beauty, warmth, and kindness will live on in our memories, especially in our hearts, and also through her paintings, songs and writing. She brought joy, a sparkle, and a love of life, to every day and lived life with endless passion and hope. Thank you for the love and support you all have provided. I know she felt it all, and loved you all very deeply."

Her husband, Derek Rodenhausen told PEOPLE that he saw the video while he was checking on Instagram if anyone had posted about Mandel's death. "I was completely shocked," he said. "She didn't tell anybody about that." The author's brother, Benjamin also shared that he didn't know about the video. However, he said that his sister always saw the world "a little differently." "There was a family story where we were taking a road trip and she saw this kind of bleak winter landscape with a crow on a tree, because everything was kind of gray and dark, and she said, 'That's beautiful.'" 

The mother of two was diagnosed with cancer when she was pregnant with her daughter Siena. Benjamin said, "The thought was, 'This is probably just a clogged milk duct, so we'll watch it.' But it didn't get better." Just before her delivery, the doctors did an ultrasound and a biopsy, and they got to know that Mandel had cancer. After going through chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the author was on a drug called Herceptin which according to her brother kept her "at bay."

She did have a couple of good years where she was in good health. But by 2021, unfortunately, her cancer returned. She got to know after getting an MRI done and the cancer was seen spreading to her brain. "Then it was just a matter of trying to manage that, which involved multiple different types of medical therapy, radiation therapy again, and it kind of kept things quiet for a bit, but it did ultimately progress," Benjamin shared.

Though she stopped her practice in 2021, she wrote a book about her illness and got it published in 2021. Rodenhausen said that she created a social media account to document her life and treatment because "she still had things to give." For him, seeing the sort of support that has been coming their way feels like a final gift from his wife to his daughters. "I just loved her incredibly over those 22 years, and we had a wonderful family," he added.

You can follow Sarah Mandel (@sarahmandelauthor) on TikTok to view her life's work and more inspiring content.