P.E.I. cancer survivor's 'unbelievable' 120-km triathlon captured in new documentary

A new documentary is about to premiere that chronicles a P.E.I. woman's journey to run, cycle and swim from the New Brunswick hospital where she'd received a devastating diagnosis of a rare cancer back to her home in P.E.I. 

Michelle Hughes was told three years ago she would likely die within three to five years from an ultra-rare sarcoma cancer, Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE). 

Instead, on the three-year anniversary of that diagnosis, she undertook a 120-kilometre triathlon taking her from Moncton Hospital to P.E.I., and a friend created a documentary about it, called The Journey Home. 

"I feel so empowered by doing what I did," Hughes told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin. "It was unbelievable." 

All the more unbelievable because Hughes did not know how to swim or cycle, and had begun running only since her diagnosis. 

'Momma can do things'

She says the mental challenge was actually bigger than the physical. 

Determination to live despite dark diagnosis leads P.E.I. woman on journey captured in documentary

22 days ago

Duration 7:06

On the third anniversary of the day Michelle Hughes was told she would die from a rare sarcoma cancer, she did the exact opposite. Her journey home to P.E.I. was recorded for a documentary being released this month, and she and her husband Ty sat down with CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin to talk about the project.

"Physical, you could just get there eventually, is what I kind of told myself," she said.

"I am doing this triathlon to give my children another example of cancer not defining me, and Momma can do things that she never even dreamed of." 

Unwelcome side-effects from her cancer treatment were an obstacle she had to overcome this summer. After having trained for months, Hughes had trouble eating and drinking, and lost weight and muscle. Her treatment finished July 10; it took her just over a month to improve enough to undertake her challenge.  

"I come from a training background, so it was really exciting to watch her develop her athletic self and dive into fitness," said her husband, Ty Hughes. 

He said he was concerned on the day of the triathlon, Aug. 20, that things might go wrong. He needed to keep his wife safe in traffic as well as fuelled and hydrated, so he thinks he might come across in the documentary as "kind of cranky." 

The couple said they hadn't set out to create a documentary — that happened thanks to the enthusiasm of a friend, Lance Phillips, with whom they'd done previous projects. 

"We said 'Hey Lance, you want to come along on the day of and take a little bit of footage, slap something together?'" said Ty Hughes. "Lance has a pretty creative mind, so he decided it had to be a full-fledged documentary, and it's exceptional what he's produced."   

'I've never lost hope'

Michelle Hughes wants people to take away one thing from the documentary: hope.

"Leaving Moncton Hospital the first time… the doctor gave me five years to live, likely three. And I left, and that drive was so hopeless … thinking all these things that I may never see again." 

The next oncologist Hughes saw told her it was possible she could indeed die within that time, but she could also live much longer, possibly as long as 40 years. 

"I ran with that, literally," Hughes said. "I've never lost hope this entire time." 

The Journey Home will be screened at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall at Holland College in Charlottetown on Nov. 16. It will also be available to stream for $9.99 on Hughes's website.

Hughes hasn't beaten the cancer — it's something she will continue to live with. At the time of her interview, she was feeling fine. 

"I'm feeling great, I'm feeling good. Unfortunately, my scans, you know they have a little growth here and there, but it's just the game of living with incurable cancer," she said.