Misty De La Cruz’s Battle with Cancer

Misty De La Cruz is facing a tough fight against a serious cancer, but it’s not just the illness that’s weighing heavily on her.

The 43-year-old mother of eight received a diagnosis of stage three triple-negative breast cancer earlier this year. In an effort to be transparent, she gathered her children to discuss what her diagnosis meant for their family’s future.

Since the diagnosis, De La Cruz has endured weeks of chemotherapy, several surgeries, and she has just started immunotherapy. The statistics for her type of cancer indicate a five-year survival rate of about 65 percent, yet she shares a much grimmer outlook: she estimates her chances of recovery are only around 20 percent, as she revealed on TikTok.

In her updates, she often films herself either lying down, exhausted and often confined to bed, or driving to various medical appointments—whether to treat a facial rash caused by chemotherapy or to fix issues with her teeth.

The impact of her condition on her family became clear last month. De La Cruz received an alarming call from her son’s school. According to the school nurse, her ten-year-old son had been unusually fatigued. When asked about it, he confessed to staying up late, worried that she might die while he was sleeping.

“It makes you realize there’s so much more at stake than just my own battle with cancer… Our kids are left traumatized,” De La Cruz expressed. “As a parent, you want to be strong, yet they watch you become someone unrecognizable.”

She recollected how her son cried and asked her if she was going to die. Though she tried to reassure him by saying the doctors were doing everything possible, she admitted there are no guarantees. “But I promised I’d fight as hard as I can,” she said.

Two years ago, De La Cruz began feeling a strange pain in her right breast. It was different from the typical pain many women experience. This discomfort persisted, leading her to consult her gynecologist for a mammogram and manual exam, which didn’t raise any immediate concerns.

However, uncertainty lingered. Despite her healthy mammogram results, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Eventually, during a self-exam, she discovered a small lump that hadn’t been there the previous month.

She quickly returned to her doctor, who ordered more tests. After a biopsy that revealed stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer, an oncologist informed her the cancer was actually at stage 3 and had spread to her lymph nodes. Time was of the essence, prompting immediate treatment.

She began chemotherapy almost immediately, feeling fine initially. It wasn’t until the treatments commenced that she experienced significant side effects such as nausea, extreme fatigue, and hair loss, which at times felt harsher than the illness itself.

De La Cruz’s physical condition has deteriorated significantly; chemotherapy has induced severe vomiting, leading to dental issues and a chronic sense of exhaustion. The prognosis for women like her indicates that about 65 percent survive past five years, but complications from her aggressive cancer have forced her to take swift action—she recently underwent surgery to remove six lymph nodes.

Complicating her situation, De La Cruz discovered she carries a mutation on the BRCA2 gene, which elevates her risk for cancer, leaving her worried about the future for her daughters.

While many cancer patients are over 50, there are emerging trends showing a rise of breast cancer in younger women. Data indicate a near three percent increase in diagnoses in women aged 20 to 39 from 2004 to 2021.

Her children are deeply affected by her illness. De La Cruz recounted a poignant shopping trip when one of her sons expressed a wish to take on her illness instead of her. Another instance involved her son clinging to her arm, pleading, “Please don’t die, mom.”

Amid all this, she recognizes the emotional burden her condition places on her kids. “Every day, I face the staggering reality of a 20 percent survival rate,” she said.

After undergoing surgery to remove lymph nodes, De La Cruz plans to have a double mastectomy, but only after she recovers from a breast reduction. To help cover medical costs, she has set up a GoFundMe page.

Despite the odds, De La Cruz strives to maintain a sense of normalcy for her family. “We have a Sunday dinner tradition,” she shared. “I usually do all the cooking, but lately, we’ve had to adapt.”