Michelle’s Story…

In 2015, Michelle’s world was turned upside down at the age of 34 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 hormone-positive breast cancer. At the time, she had two young children, Josh (12) and Maddison (9).

She went through six rounds of intense chemotherapy, followed by a ten-hour mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Once recovered, she received four weeks of radiotherapy, followed by medically induced menopause through monthly injections. After months of treatment and surgery, Michelle tried to get her life back on track—returning to work and helping her children regain a sense of routine and normality.

The following year, in 2016, during a check-up prompted by ovarian pain and fears of the cancer returning, it was discovered that Michelle was actually 24 weeks pregnant with a miracle baby girl. This was completely unexpected, as it should have been medically impossible due to her previous and ongoing treatment. After a worrying time, a healthy baby girl, Mia, was born.

In 2018, during a routine mammogram on the other breast, shadows were detected and a biopsy was required. Unfortunately, this confirmed that Michelle had stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer—a more aggressive form, different from her first diagnosis. This time, a mastectomy was performed first, with reconstruction planned for a later date. She then underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, another four weeks of radiotherapy, and returned to Zoladex injections.

While waiting for her reconstruction surgery and trying to recover from treatment while raising a baby and two teenagers, Michelle experienced a serious blood condition that required hospitalisation and six blood transfusions.

Then, in 2019, Michelle began suffering from back pain and consulted her oncology team. She was referred for an emergency CT scan, which revealed an issue in her lower spine requiring a bone biopsy. This led to the devastating diagnosis that her hormone-positive cancer from 2015 had returned. She was told it was now stage 4 and incurable. Michelle had to explain to her three children and her family that she would require lifelong treatment to keep the cancer stable. Her treatment included oral chemotherapy (capecitabine), used for metastatic breast cancer.

After a steady couple of years managing her cancer, in 2025, Michelle’s medication unfortunately stopped working. This was an incredibly devastating blow after battling so bravely for nearly ten years.

The cancer in her lower back had grown in size and spread to parts of her spine, as well as to two lymph nodes on her chest wall. After discussions with her medical team, Michelle began hormone-targeted therapy, consisting of two monthly injections and daily oral hormone/chemotherapy tablets.

Despite facing constant bad news with remarkable strength and inspiring everyone she met, tragedy struck again in February this year—just four months after her latest diagnosis—with the sudden and shocking loss of her beautiful 23-year-old son, Josh.

When Michelle went to pick Josh up on a Saturday morning, she was the one who found him unresponsive and soon realised he had passed away during the night. Every parent’s worst nightmare.

At a time when Michelle, Maddison, and Mia should have been spending what time they have left together making memories, they are now mourning the devastating loss of a son and brother. Maddison, now 20, and Mia, now 9, face not only grief but also constant worry about their mum and the future.

One sentence that will stay with me forever—spoken by Michelle in the days following this tragedy—was:

“I will need to use money I’ve saved for my funeral to pay towards Josh’s.”

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I am looking to raise as much money as possible to support Michelle, Maddison, and Mia during these heartbreaking circumstances.

The funds raised will go towards helping Michelle create lasting memories with her two daughters in the uncertain time they have together, as well as covering future costs, including Michelle’s funeral. Any remaining funds will go towards supporting Maddison and Mia’s future.