In 2016, during the final weeks of her pregnancy, Michelle Hughes felt a persistent ache beneath her right rib. Like many expectant mothers, she assumed it was part of the typical discomforts that come with the third trimester. Out of caution, her doctor ordered an ultrasound to rule out gallbladder issues. While her gallbladder appeared normal, the scan revealed something unexpected: a benign liver hemangioma — a common, non-cancerous growth made up of blood vessels.
Doctors reassured her that it wasn’t serious, and Michelle shifted her focus to welcoming her first daughter, Juliet. Life moved forward. She had another daughter, Adeline, and built a fulfilling career in social work, all while managing the occasional discomfort from her side. Repeated scans showed no changes, and over time, the concern faded into the background.
But in 2021, everything changed.
Michelle was expecting her third child, a son named Hatton, when she experienced a complication late in pregnancy. After a successful emergency delivery at 35 weeks, she returned home to recover. Just days later, she collapsed. At the hospital, doctors discovered alarming changes: multiple tumors in her lungs and additional growths on her liver. A biopsy confirmed a rare diagnosis — Stage 4 epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), an uncommon vascular cancer that’s often difficult to detect early.
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