After Giving Birth to Her 3rd Child, She Collapsed – Then Learned She’d Been Living with Incurable Cancer for 5 Years

For five years, Michelle Hughes endured persistent pain beneath her ribs, dismissed as a benign hemangioma after routine scans. Initially attributed to pregnancy discomfort, the ache continued through the births of her three children. In 2021, after collapsing post-delivery, urgent imaging revealed a shocking truth: stage 4 epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a rare, incurable sarcoma that had spread to her lungs, liver, thigh, and knee. Doctors estimated she had months to live.

Refusing to surrender, Michelle, a social worker and mother, embraced life with fierce determination. A sarcoma specialist in Toronto reframed her perspective, noting she had already lived with EHE for years while raising her family. Inspired, she began running, progressing from treadmill walks to 5Ks with her children in a 170-pound stroller setup. In 2024, on the third anniversary of her diagnosis, she completed a triathlon—swimming, biking, and running a half-marathon.

Michelle shares her journey on Instagram, amassing over 400,000 followers with raw, unfiltered posts about motherhood and cancer. She created a “Weeks to Live” chart to celebrate time with her family, focusing on a “living list” of joyful experiences, like watching her son start kindergarten. Her story inspires thousands, showcasing resilience and hope.