“I thought my life was over,” says Michelle Hughes, recalling the moment she was told she had incurable stage 4 cancer and only three years to live.
The Prince Edward Island mother of three was 34 when she received her ‘death sentence’ that turned her entire life upside down.
After collapsing at home following the birth of her third child, doctors discovered “countless” lung tumors and 15 liver cysts in her body, which they said were inoperable.
At first, Mrs. Hughes said she was in “a really negative space because I lost the life I envisioned for myself and my family.”
But that was three years ago. Incredibly, Mrs Hughes has since embarked on a wellness campaign with the aim of becoming a triathlete.
Michelle Hughes, from Prince Edward Island, was 34 years old when she received her ‘death sentence’ that turned her entire life upside down.
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Having never been a runner before, Ms Hughes took part in 12 running events in 2023, including a half marathon.
And this August he completed half a triathlon, covering the route from the hospital where he was diagnosed to his summer home.
This epic feat has been turned into a short documentary that will air in November.
Mrs Hughes considers exercise to be one of her saviors when living with cancer, along with her husband Ty.
in a post on Instagram – where her inspiring attitude has seen her amass more than 300,000 followers – the brunette reveals that she was diagnosed with cancer on August 20, 2021.
Recalling the chain of events, she wrote: “I was holding my three-week-old son in my arms, sitting next to my husband, when my first oncologist told me I had five years to live, probably three. My daughters were then five and two years.
Although she was completely devoid of hope at the time, Mrs Hughes says cancer has driven her to “just live”, and her Instagram account, @myjourneytojustlive, reflects this.
He adds: “What I didn’t realize then, and what I have come to know and understand, is that my life was just beginning.
“I was just given the gift of knowing that my life may be shorter than most, and I knew that if I wanted to live, I needed to set myself up for success, stop sitting around and waiting to die.”
In a post on Instagram, where her inspiring attitude has allowed her to accumulate more than 300,000 followers, the brunette reveals that she was diagnosed with cancer on August 20, 2021.
Amazingly, having never been a runner before, Ms Hughes took part in 12 running events in 2023, including a half marathon.
Mrs Hughes was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma called epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) which originates in the cells lining blood vessels.
EHE, which has an incidence rate of less than one million people in the US, is most commonly associated with young and middle-aged adults, and is more common in women.
One of the signs of EHE is a dry cough that causes difficulty breathing.
Other symptoms include a lump or swelling in the soft tissue of the body under the skin and stomach pain along with weight loss if the disease is present in the liver.
A 2006 study of 434 people with EHE in the liver found five-year survival rates of 55% in people who received liver transplants and 30% in people who received chemotherapy or radiation.
Since then, two studies have shown even higher survival rates for people who received liver transplants.
Mrs Hughes said she started noticing something was wrong when she was pregnant with her first daughter, Juliet, back in 2016.
she said Today.com He developed sharp pain in the upper right part of his abdomen and an ultrasound revealed a hemangioma (a benign tumor) in his liver.
While the doctors didn’t say it wouldn’t trigger that kind of pain, they said everything seemed to be in order and they did a follow-up scan a year later and again after she had another daughter, Adeline, through IVF.
Scans showed the mass had not grown, but Mrs Hughes said the pain “got significantly worse”.
Despite further investigations, doctors still couldn’t get to the root of the problem.
Only after the premature birth of her son, Hatton, due to a ruptured placenta, did Mrs Hughes’ condition worsen.
At the time, Mrs. Hughes was living in Yellowknife, Canada’s Northwest Territories, but while on vacation visiting her family on Prince Edward Island, she collapsed.
The Hugheses are now based in Prince Edward Island, where they help organize regular events to raise cancer awareness.
That’s when the cancer was detected and he never returned to Yellowknife.
In an Instagram post, she reveals how her life took a turn: ‘WWe had plans to return home at the end of the summer, after Hatton arrived.
But… we never made it back home. Literally. We stayed in PEI and Ty flew back alone, packing up our house along with friends and community members.
‘Our house was sold and a new family moved in to make their own memories.
‘The children and I said goodbye to their rooms, beds and toys via FaceTime. It may be one of the worst pains I have ever experienced.’
The Hugheses are now based in Prince Edward Island, where they help organize regular events to raise cancer awareness.
As for medication, Ms. Hughes stopped an experimental treatment she had been receiving in July on the advice of her doctor, as one of the uncomfortable side effects was painful mouth sores on her inner lips.
Now he only takes anti-inflammatories for the pain.
Referring to her new love of exercise, Mrs Hughes concludes: “When I called to celebrate the New Year, knowing that 2024 was my three-year date against cancer,
‘I knew I had to do something that would change my life. I wanted to show myself and our children another example that cancer does not define me.
‘I was going to choose a lot, try something new and feel very alive.
“So I set the goal of becoming a triathlete and I achieved it. I learned to swim and ride a bike, increasing my distances with a sprint, until I reached an Olympic distance.
And I surprised my family on August 20 when I ran out of the doors of my diagnostic hospital and completed a middle-distance triathlon back to my summer home, straight into the arms of my children.
‘How this body that is full of tumors from an ultra-rare cancer sarcoma can do what it does… I am overwhelmed with gratitude. It’s a gift. A privilege.
‘To all my peers who thrived, survived, conquered, and those who cancer stole, I do this for you. For us. “Now I’m a triathlete.”
