Cat Janice obit

Musician Mom Cat Janice Dead at 31: 'Cat Saw Her Music Go Places She Never Expected'

In January, Janice went viral on TikTok after releasing the song "Dance You Outta My Head" inspired by her son

She was not on the list. 

On Wednesday, musician Cat Janice died from cancer.

The announcement of the singer-songwriter's death was made via a post on her Instagram account by her family.

"This morning, from her childhood home and surrounded by her loving family, Catherine peacefully entered the light and love of her heavenly creator," the post began, referring to the musician who gained viral fame on TikTok in January with her song "Dance You Outta My Head."

"We are eternally thankful for the outpouring of love that Catherine and our family have received over the past few months," the post continued. "Cat saw her music go places she never expected and rests in the peace of knowing that she will continue to provide for her son through her music. This would not have been possible without all of you."

In the post, the family announced that the singer's Instagram page would be memorialized by her brother, who will also oversee all aspects of her music, merchandise and public relations. They also shared that, "Per Cat’s request, there is some more art that she wants to share too. All in due time."

The Washington, DC local's cancer journey began in November 2021, when she first felt a lump in her neck, as she explained on TikTok. At first, she thought nothing of it, but in March of the following year, she realized the lump was still there. "It was larger and it was very hard," she said in a video at the time.

That prompted Janice, who celebrated her 31st birthday on Jan. 21, to see a doctor. Following the visit, she was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare malignant tumor. She underwent surgery, chemo and radiation before being declared cancer-free on July 22, 2022. Through it all, she continued to sing and write songs, and to share them on social media.

Earlier this year, Janice returned to social media to share with her followers that the cancer had returned.

On Jan. 10, she entered hospice after no longer being able to breathe in the ICU, she previously told PEOPLE. She transferred all her songs to her son's name, so all proceeds would go to Loren.

"Everyone knows that I've been battling cancer for a while and I wanted to put this song out, and just go stream it. I hope you like it. I don't know if I'm going to be around even when the song comes out, so let's just put it out. And I did," she says.

"The idea for the song, 'Dance You Outta My Head,' came about last spring," she said. She and Loren were "bopping around in the car" and enjoying the warm weather through the windows.

"We came up with some fun lyrics and a little ditty," she continued. "I song banked it and made a little voice note of it and as time went on, we would bounce around in the car to it every now and then."

Cat Janice poses with a music award from her hospital bed. CAT JANICE/INSTAGRAM

On Jan. 23, she found out her song was charting on iTunes.

"I was sitting there in the middle of the night looking at my phone — what the heck is going on here?" she recalled. "I started yelling and my parents came down, they were like, what is going on?"

"I just wanted to put out something fun and positive," she said. "My art is all I have to leave behind."