Georgia O'Connor Dies After Battling Cancer — She Said Doctors Ignored Her Pain

It sounds trite to say but British boxer Georgia O'Connor was a fighter. Unfortunately, the most important punches she ever threw were outside of the boxing ring and involved her own health. In January 2025, Georgia announced on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She had been dealing with various health issues since September 2021, which started with a separate diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC). Then things got worse.

A few months after Georgia revealed she had cancer, the young boxer died on May 22, 2025. Looking back on her cancer post, it's easy to feel the rage she felt while typing it out. We will never know if her death could have been avoided, but we do know that multiple doctors ignored Georgia when she told them something wasn't right. What kind of cancer did she have? Here's what we know.

"There’s really no easy way to say this, but I have cancer," wrote Georgia below a photograph of her giving a thumbs up in a hospital bed. Although Georgia did not say what kind of cancer she had, an ulcerative colitis diagnosis increases a person's risk of getting colorectal cancer, per The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

In her Instagram post, a frustrated Georgia detailed how much pain she had been in since October 2024. She had repeatedly gone to hospitals in both Durham and Newcastle but was ignored every time. "Not one doctor took me seriously," said Georgia. "Not one doctor did the scans or blood tests I begged for." Georgia was consistently dismissed, gaslit, and told "it was nothing," while making her feel as if she was overreacting. Every doctor knew she was at risk of getting cancer and did nothing.

Georgia went on to criticize the National Health Service, describing it as a "broken system that fails young people," like her, over and over again. Despite being told she was terminal, Georgia was determined to beat something she had already been living with for at least four months. "I’m young, I’m fit and I am stronger than they’ll ever f-----g understand," she said. "I’m still smiling and that smile will NEVER fade, no matter what." Georgia's last Instagram post was announcing her marriage.