‘Live my life out loud’: P.E.I. woman battling cancer encourages others to ‘just live’ – CTV
August 17, 2025
Michelle Hughes is on a journey to ‘just live,’ and she’s encouraging others to do the same.
The 38-year-old Prince Edward Islander from Cornwall is a mother of three young children. She’s also battling stage four incurable cancer.
Four years ago, and three weeks after giving birth to her third child, Hughes was diagnosed with stage four Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, or EHE. The Canadian Cancer Society describes EHE as ‘a cancerous (malignant) tumour that starts in the blood vessels.’ At the time, an oncologist gave her three to five years to live.
“Obviously, I was heartbroken and devastated and envisioned my husband raising our children all by himself. And that oncologist really left a mark in my heart thinking that I need to savour every moment moving forward for these children because they’re not going to remember me,” explains Hughes in an interview with CTV Atlantc.
“Thankfully, I came about another oncologist who was a sarcoma cancer specialist at the Princess Margaret (Cancer Centre). And she had said, ‘Sure, you could die in those five years. You could die in three years. But I have patients living for decades. And I have hope for you, so I want you to just live.’”
The conversation was a turning point for Hughes.
