Michelle Hughes felt a persistent pain beneath her ribs during pregnancy, something many expectant mothers dismiss as a side effect of the growing baby. What she didn’t know was that this seemingly minor discomfort would lead to a discovery of a rare, incurable cancer — a diagnosis she wouldn’t receive until five years later.
Throughout her pregnancies, Michelle endured occasional flare-ups of the pain. Scans showed a benign liver cyst, so she continued on with life, focusing on her growing family. However, after the birth of her third child, a sudden collapse led to shocking results: her liver and lungs were filled with tumors, and a biopsy revealed epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a rare cancer that had been silently spreading for years.
Despite the grim prognosis, Michelle’s spirit refused to break. She was told she had just months to live, but rather than succumbing to despair, she decided to live for her children and embrace each day. She took up fitness and even began running marathons, turning her diagnosis into a driving force to make lasting memories with her family.
In 2024, three years after her diagnosis, Michelle achieved what many thought impossible: she completed a full triathlon on the very day she had received her cancer diagnosis. Through it all, she built a community of supporters by sharing her unfiltered journey on social media, encouraging others to live fully, no matter the challenges they face.