At the age of 34, I was told I had incurable cancer and had three years to live. Taking up a new hobby has kept me alive and thriving at age 37

“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 mother of three from Prince Edward Island was 34 years old when she received her ‘death sentence’, which turned her entire life upside down.

After she collapsed at home following the birth of her third child, doctors discovered “countless” lung tumors and 15 liver cysts in her body, which they said could not be operated on.

Initially, Ms. Hughes said she found herself in “a very negative situation because I lost the life I envisioned for myself and my family.”

But that was three years ago. Incredibly, Ms Hughes has since embarked on a wellness journey with the aim of becoming a triathlete.

Having never run before, Ms Hughes took part in twelve running events in 2023, including a half marathon.

And last August she completed a half triathlon following the route from the hospital where she was diagnosed to her summer home.

This epic feat has been turned into a short documentary to be broadcast in November.

Mrs Hughes credits exercise as one of her saviors through life with cancer, along with her husband Ty.

In one post on Instagram – where she has amassed more than 300,000 followers thanks to her inspiring attitude – the brunette reveals that she was diagnosed with cancer on August 20, 2021.

Recalling the series of events, she wrote: “I was holding my three-week-old son in my arms and sitting next to my husband when my first oncologist said I have five years to live, probably three. My girls were five and two years old at the time.’

Although she was completely without hope at the time, Ms Hughes says the cancer urged her to ‘just live’, with her Instagram account – @myjourneytojustlive – reflecting this.

She adds, “What I didn’t realize then, and what I have come to know and understand now, is that my life was just beginning.

“I was just given the gift of knowing that my life could be shorter than most, and I knew that if I wanted to live, I had to set myself up for success, and stop sitting back and waiting to die. ‘

Mrs Hughes was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma called epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), which originates in the cells lining the blood vessels.

EHE – with 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 breathing difficulties.

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 a five-year survival rate of 55% in people who had undergone a liver transplant and 30% in people who had undergone chemotherapy or radiation.

Two studies since then have shown even higher survival rates for people who received a liver transplant.

Mrs Hughes said she started to notice something was wrong when she was pregnant with her first daughter, Juliet, in 2016.

She told me Today.com that she developed an acute pain in the upper right side of her abdomen, and an ultrasound revealed a hemangioma (a benign tumor) in her liver.

Although the doctors didn’t say it wouldn’t cause that kind of pain, they said everything seemed to be fine and 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 Ms Hughes said the pain became ‘significantly worse’.

Despite further investigation, doctors were still unable to get to the heart of the matter.

It was only after the premature birth of her son, Hatton, due to a ruptured placenta, that Mrs Hughes’ condition worsened.

Ms Hughes was living in Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories at the time, but while on holiday to visit family in Prince Edward Island she collapsed.

It was then that the cancer was discovered and she never returned to Yellowknife.

In an Instagram post she reveals how her life was turned upside down: ‘WHe had plans to return home at the end of the summer, after Hatton’s arrival.

But… we never made it home. Literal. We stayed on PEI and Ty flew back alone and packed up our house with friends and community members.

‘Our house was sold and a new family moved in to make their own memories.

‘The kids and I said goodbye to their rooms, beds and toys via FaceTime. It may be one of the worst pains I have ever experienced.’

Now the Hughes are based in Prince Edward Island, where they regularly help organize events to raise cancer awareness.

On the medication side, Ms. Hughes, on the advice of her doctor, stopped an experimental treatment she had been receiving in July because one of the uncomfortable side effects was painful mouth sores on her inner lips.

Now she only takes anti-inflammatories for the pain.

As for her newfound love of exercise, Ms. Hughes concludes, “As I rang in the new year knowing that this 2024 was my three year cancer anniversary,

‘I knew I had to do something life-changing. I wanted to show myself and our children another example of cancer that did not define me.

‘I was going to make a hard choice, try something new and make myself feel alive.

“So I set a goal to become a triathlete, and I succeeded. I learned to swim and cycle, increasing my distance with a sprint to an Olympic distance.

“And surprised my family on August 20 when I ran out the door of my diagnosis hospital and completed a half-distance triathlon back to my summer home, straight into the arms of my children.

‘How this body, full of tumors from an extremely rare sarcoma cancer, can do what it does… I am overwhelmed with gratitude. It’s a gift. A privilege.

“To all my fellow cancer thrivers, survivors, conquerors, and those cancer has stolen, I do this for you. For us. I’m a triathlete now.’