A devoted mother of eight was already facing the fight of her life when a phone call stopped her cold. In that moment, the weight of her illness took on a heartbreaking new shape — one she hadn’t seen coming.
By the time she turned 43, chemotherapy had made walking a challenge, cooking nearly impossible, and basic self-care something she couldn’t manage alone. What she didn’t expect was how deeply it would shake the youngest among her children.
That realization hit in May 2025, when a call from her son’s school revealed just how much her illness had altered their daily world. Balancing treatment, household responsibilities, and emotional fallout became a full-time battle that De La Cruz chose to face with openness, honesty, and a camera rolling. Her story has moved millions deeply.
Misty De La Cruz | Source: GoFundMe/help-misty-keep-her-family-home
The Diagnosis That Started It All
In September 2024, De La Cruz discovered a lump during one of her routine self-exams. She didn’t ignore it. After undergoing testing, she received a diagnosis that would alter the course of her life: stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of the disease.
A woman pointing to a pink ribbon pinned to her chest, symbolizing breast cancer awareness | Source: Getty Images
Triple-negative breast cancer makes up only 15 percent of all breast cancer cases. Unlike most types, it lacks three key receptors that typically fuel tumor growth: estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Without these targets, treatment options become limited, and the cancer often grows and spreads more quickly.
Visual representation of how breast cancer cells form and spread within breast tissue | Source: Getty Images
In many cases, TNBC is linked to inherited mutations in the breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) or breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), mutations that De La Cruz later tested positive for. The first sign of breast cancer is often a lump or mass, which may be hard, painless, and have irregular edges. But not all signs are so obvious.
Medical illustration showing invasive and in situ ductal carcinomas. The image traces a zoom from the mammary gland to the milk duct, highlighting tumor locations, glandular structure, and axillary lymph nodes | Source: Getty Images
According to the American Cancer Society, other symptoms may include swelling, skin dimpling, pain, nipple discharge, or changes in nipple appearance. For De La Cruz, the diagnosis was only the beginning. As the reality of treatment set in, so did the physical and emotional challenges that would follow and the heavy responsibility of explaining it all to her children.
A woman placing her hands over her chest, representing a breast health awareness concept | Source: Getty Images
A Mother’s Honesty and a Child’s Fear
Shortly after receiving her diagnosis, De La Cruz sat down with her older children to explain what was happening. She didn’t hide the truth. As a mother of eight and a grandmother of two, she felt it was important to be clear about the path ahead.
Misty De La Cruz’s grandkids | Source: GoFundMe/help-misty-keep-her-family-home
But when it came to her 10-year-old son, the conversation took more time and carried more weight. When she finally sat down with him one-on-one, she explained, in simple terms, what cancer was and how it might affect their daily life. His response was immediate and heartbreaking.
“He was crying, and the only thing he asked was if I was going to die,” she recalled. “I tried to reassure him that the doctors were going to do the best that they could do to make sure that that didn’t happen. But ultimately, there is never a promise from anyone, but I was gonna fight as hard as I could.”
A woman clutching her chest, indicating sudden chest pain—a potential symptom requiring medical evaluation | Source: Getty Images
Even so, she could see the toll it was taking. “It doesn’t take away the fear in a child’s eyes as they watch the person who’s always been the strongest in the household become the weakest,” she said. That awareness would take on new meaning just months later, when a call from her son’s school would bring that fear into sharp, public focus.
Misty De La Cruz with her family | Source: GoFundMe/help-misty-keep-her-family-home
The Call That Broke Her
In May 2025, De La Cruz received a call from her son’s elementary school. It wasn’t about grades or attendance. It was something the school nurse had noticed. Over the phone, the nurse explained that her son had been frequently exhausted in class and opened up to staff about what was keeping him awake at night.
“He did mention to them that his mom has cancer,” De La Cruz recalled in a TikTok video posted on May 16, “and that it’s hard for him to sleep, and that sometimes he’s afraid to go to sleep because he thinks that while he’s asleep, I’m gonna die.”
Misty De La Cruz narrates the details of the call, dated May 16, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty8
In the video, she spoke plainly about the emotional weight of trying to hold her family together while enduring treatment. “When I tell you guys, it’s so hard like when you’re trying to go through and just battle something like this, and you are still trying to maintain a house and maintain a family, and work,” she said.
“People don’t understand on the outside. There’s so much more to this process than just us battling cancer. It’s a lot more than most people could ever even imagine. It’s the fact that our kids are so traumatized,” she shared. The caption read, “It’s not fair. I can handle this suffering, but to watch my babies suffering is horrible.”
Misty De La Cruz expresses the emotional weight of living with breast cancer, dated May 16, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty8
The response online was immediate. Supporters’ comments included, “I’m gutted for you. I’m so sorry! 💕,” “That just broke my heart,” “This is so so sad 😢😢😢,” “This broke my heart ❤️🩹 it’s hard,” and “This made me cry. 😔 I wish the best for you and your family.”
Speaking to People, De La Cruz described the impact of the phone call. “It’s one of those calls no parent wants to receive,” she said. “The feeling is gut-wrenching. It’s almost like someone knocked the wind out of you, and you really don’t know how to react to it. All I could do was cry.”
Screenshot of Misty De La Cruz during a heartfelt video message reflecting on the reality of her illness, dated May 16, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty8
For De La Cruz, shielding her children from fear isn’t the goal — preparing them for what lies ahead is. She believes in being direct, irrespective of how difficult the subject is. When her son came home from school that day, she made sure they talked about what had happened. She decided to move forward with therapy for him.
“I allow my son to ask all of the questions he wants to ask, and I answer them honestly,” she explained. “We’ve had open discussions about my chances of survival as well as how it’s going to change our lives.”
The Harsh Reality of Treatment
As treatment progressed, De La Cruz faced increasingly severe side effects. Chemotherapy left her physically depleted, often triggering reactions almost immediately after each session. Standing upright for even short periods became a challenge, and she eventually had to use a walker, something she never imagined needing in her early 40s.
The nerve damage from neuropathy brought intense, persistent pain, and injections left her with such deep bone and muscle aches that basic movement became difficult. Some days were so physically limiting that she needed assistance with the simplest tasks, including bathing.
Screenshot of Misty De La Cruz during a Tiktok video message, dated June 8, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty8
Despite the exhaustion, De La Cruz tried to preserve some sense of normalcy for her family. One way she did this was by holding onto a cherished tradition: Sunday dinners. “Usually, I’m the one to do all the cooking, but we’ve had to improvise,” she shared.
Unable to stand for long, she leaned on her children to help prepare meals, turning a necessity into a small moment of togetherness. But the illness didn’t just keep her out of the kitchen. It also kept her from attending her children’s school events and caring for them when they were sick.
Screenshot from a TikTok video of Misty De La Cruz talking in her car, dated June 8, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty8
With a weakened immune system, even mild illnesses in the household became a serious risk. The inability to fully parent in the way she once did took a deep emotional toll. De La Cruz admitted to feeling overwhelmed by a mix of helplessness, guilt, and isolation.
The Financial Strain Behind the Fight
Alongside the physical and emotional demands of cancer, De La Cruz found herself facing another battle she hadn’t fully anticipated. The financial toll of staying alive began to mount quickly, and it soon threatened the stability of everything she had built for her family.
Misty De La Cruz poses with her husband, dated March 21, 2025 | Source: TikTok/@lifewithmisty
Between chemotherapy, medications, and ongoing medical care, De La Cruz was left with approximately $150,000 in debt. And the costs weren’t slowing down. With four more surgeries still ahead, she knew the financial pressure would only intensify.
Making matters worse, chemotherapy had caused severe vomiting that damaged her teeth extensively, and because insurance classified the needed dental work as “cosmetic,” it wouldn’t cover the $45,000 to $65,000 required to repair the damage.
To keep her family in their home, she launched a GoFundMe campaign. “Imagine working so hard to build a home only to end up with a diagnosis that could cause you to lose it all,” she wrote. By late June, more than $65,000 had been raised toward a $259,000 goal.
De La Cruz made it clear that surviving cancer doesn’t guarantee financial recovery. “A lot of people fail to understand that just because you physically survive cancer, it doesn’t mean that you emotionally, mentally, or financially survive it,” she emphasized. Despite the challenges, she continues to focus on creating moments of routine and connection.
Letting Go of Pride and Asking for Help
For much of her life, De La Cruz prided herself on being independent. She had raised eight children, maintained a household, and worked hard to keep everything running. But cancer changed that. As her condition progressed, she was forced to confront a difficult truth: survival sometimes requires surrendering pride and accepting support.
It wasn’t easy at first. Relying on others, whether for rides, meals, or physical care, felt unnatural. But over time, she came to view asking for help not as weakness, but as an essential part of the journey. “It just means you’re human – and even the strongest humans need help,” she said.
That mindset extended to her children as well. She has ensured each of them knows that if they ever need to talk to a therapist or counselor, she would arrange it without hesitation. The emotional weight of illness, she has realized, was something no one, child or adult, should have to carry alone.
De La Cruz also understands that grief isn’t limited to death. “Everyone grieves differently,” she reflected. “And this is a grieving process. You won’t be the person you were before cancer.” In her household, she encourages open expression, whether it is fear, anger, or sadness, as a way to cope with the changes none of them asked for.
Though she had once been the rock of the family, she now leans on her children, her husband, and her broader support network to get through each day. In June 2025, De La Cruz shared a brief update through her GoFundMe page. She had undergone two surgeries so far, and her children were beginning therapy.
“I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone,” she wrote, “but I will accept whatever God’s plan is for me. May each of you be blessed with love and Health.”
De La Cruz is still fighting for her health, her home, and her family’s emotional well-being. And as she has learned, healing is not a single moment of triumph, but a continuous process that demands patience, support, and courage every single day.
