Fans of MTV's The Challenge were crushed in November when Diem Brown lost her battle with cancer. It was the third time in about eight years the reality star found herself fighting for her life, and many expected her to pull through just like she had before. Instead, colon cancer that spread to her kidneys ultimately ended up being stronger than she was, but in the months leading up to her death Brown never gave up hope. She began filming The Challenge: Battle of the Exes 2 in August and said she wanted the prize money so she could pay for a surrogate to carry babies for her. What no one realized is that Brown already knew she was sick again.
Challenge co-star Johnny "Bananas" recently told Zap2it that he was with Brown for her birthday in June and she told him then that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
"I was actually there on her birthday [in June] when she found out that [the cancer] had come back for a third time. That was before this challenge. Diem is a firecracker. She was always this ball of energy that got the party started. It was just so strange to be in a challenge where she was there, but she was up in bed writhing in pain," explained Johnny.
It was not till Brown collapsed in pain while filming the show last August that he tipped his hand to the rest of the cast and let them know that she was once again fighting cancer. That tragic episode, where Brown was flown to a New York City hospital aired last night on MTV, giving viewers their last glimpse at a longtime fan favorite. It is even sadder yet to realize that she never made it home from the hospital again.
