Michelle Hughes thought she was simply recovering from childbirth when she collapsed just days after welcoming her third baby. Doctors soon gave her devastating news: she had been living with stage 4 epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a rare and incurable cancer, for at least five years.
Michelle’s pain began during her first pregnancy in 2016, but scans repeatedly misdiagnosed it as a harmless liver cyst. After years of raising her children — Juliet, Adeline, and newborn Hatton — the shocking truth emerged when doctors found multiple tumors in her lungs and liver.
“They told me I might have months to live. My first thought was, ‘He’s never going to remember me, and that’s not okay with me,’” Michelle said while holding her newborn son.
Refusing to give up, Michelle turned to fitness and positivity. She began running with her children in strollers, completing 5Ks and even a full triathlon in 2024. “I always recommend we chase joy,” she said. Her story now inspires hundreds of thousands online, as she continues to live each week with courage and purpose.
