Molly Kochan, who passed away in March 2019 at the age of 45, left behind a legacy of sexual liberation and a touching message for her supporters. Her battle with breast cancer started in 2004 when she first noticed a lump, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she was diagnosed. Tragically, the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes, bones, brain, and liver.
Despite undergoing a double mastectomy and intense treatments, Molly’s cancer was incurable. In 2015, she received the devastating news and chose to make the most of her remaining time in an unconventional way. At the time, she was in marriage counseling with her husband of 15 years, but decided to leave her loveless marriage in pursuit of joy.
For Molly, this meant seeking sexual experiences, as she found that sex made her feel “alive” and helped her forget her illness. She went on to have more than 180 sexual encounters, including with various types of men, from a Ryan Reynolds lookalike to a mortician in clown makeup. In 2018, Molly and her best friend, Nikki Boyer, launched a podcast, Dying for Sex, to document her journey.
Molly also wrote a memoir called Screw Cancer: Becoming Whole, and in it, she shared how sex allowed her to heal old wounds and reclaim her identity. The podcast, which continued after her death, gained five million downloads, and Nikki reflected on how Molly never expected it to resonate so deeply with people.
Molly’s last blog post, shared on the day she passed away, revealed her final thoughts. In her message, she reflected on the joy her adventures brought her and reassured her loved ones that she was surrounded by the people who mattered most in her final days. She acknowledged the pressure to complete things before her death but accepted the lack of control she had over it. Molly’s story of embracing life on her terms remains an inspiration to those who hear it.
