chemotherapy

Zach Belden's 80-year-old great-grandmother Betty was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Knowing that she would have to endure unimaginable hardship, both physical and emotional, Belden came up with an idea that would help keep her spirits high and make the remainder of her time on this planet as joyous as possible.

His solution turned out to be Instagram.

In 2012, New Jersey-based writer Emily Helck was one of the several thousands of women under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. Knowing that the following year of chemo and surgery would be harrowing, she decided to document it by taking photos of herself every week for a full year.

The resulting video, which went up online at the end of September, has turned into an inspirational viral sensation that has accumulated over 700,000 views.