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Life Tips 24/06/2025 13:25

A h3artbreaking moment: A mom of eight with Stage 3 Br3ast Canc3r tearfully recounts an unexpected call from her child's school nurse

She’s doing everything she can to keep life normal for her eight children – but a call from the school nurse showed just how much they’re carrying, too
Misty De La Cruz received a devastating diagnosis in September 2024 when she was told she had stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer, after discovering a lump during a routine self-exam.
In May 2025, she received an unexpected call from her son’s elementary school in Maryland. The school nurse explained that her 10-year-old son had been expressing exhaustion during school hours, sharing that he was afraid to fall asleep at night for fear of losing his mother.
De La Cruz was deeply moved by the phone call and shared her emotional response on TikTok, where it quickly went viral, gaining over 3 million views.
 
While she fights through the debilitating side effects of her cancer treatments, she reflects on the emotional strain that comes with cancer, particularly the toll it takes on her family. For her, it’s more than just surviving the illness—it’s about holding her family together in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
“As a parent, you do your best to be strong for your children, but they witness you change into someone they don’t recognize,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.
After her diagnosis, the 43-year-old mother gathered her older children to explain her condition. It took a little longer before she felt ready to speak with her younger son. When she finally sat down with him, she explained what cancer was, how it would affect her health, and how their daily life would change.
"He was crying, and his only question was if I was going to die," she recalls. "I reassured him that the doctors were doing everything they could to make sure I wouldn’t die, but in the end, there’s no promise. All I could do was promise I’d fight as hard as I could."
As time goes on, De La Cruz struggles with everyday tasks that she used to handle with ease. Simple things, like cooking meals in the kitchen, have become difficult. Chemotherapy has taken a serious toll on her body, with painful side effects that she feels almost immediately.
"You lose all sense of humility. There are days when you can’t even wash yourself and need help," she says. "The pain from neuropathy makes it impossible to stand sometimes, and the bone and muscle pain from the injections made me use a walker at 42 because I couldn’t stand on my own."
In addition to the physical and emotional struggles, De La Cruz also faces financial strain. Keeping up with basic expenses is challenging, and it breaks her heart not to be able to care for her sick children when they need her. She also misses out on her children’s activities because even a small illness could be life-threatening due to her compromised immune system.
“You feel helpless, useless, and like a burden all at once,” she admits.
Her children’s schools have been informed of her illness and have been supportive, but the call from the elementary school nurse still brought her to tears.
"It’s the kind of call no parent wants to receive," De La Cruz says. "It’s a gut-wrenching feeling, like someone knocked the wind out of you. You don’t know how to react. I could only cry."
When her son returned home, De La Cruz made sure they talked it through and decided that therapy was the best option for him.
“I allow him to ask anything he wants to know, and I answer honestly. I don’t believe in hiding the truth from them,” she shares. “We’ve had open conversations about my chances of survival and how our daily lives will change.”
Even though De La Cruz approaches the situation with her children as gently as possible, she knows they still carry the fear of losing her. "It doesn’t stop the fear from being there," she confesses. "A child’s perspective is hard to ignore, especially when they watch the strongest person in their life become the most fragile."
De La Cruz has made it clear to her children that if they ever feel the need to talk to a professional, she will help them arrange it.
To bring some sense of normalcy to their lives, De La Cruz says sticking to a routine has helped her family cope.
"No matter how sick I am, every Sunday we have family dinner," she says. "I used to be the one who cooked, but now we all pitch in."
As she becomes more reliant on her children, particularly in the kitchen, they’ve found joy in cooking together, despite the challenges she faces standing for long periods.
What De La Cruz has learned through this journey is to be honest with her children and allow them to experience and express their emotions—whether it’s anger, sadness, or confusion. "Everyone grieves in their own way," she says. "Cancer is a process of grief. You will never be the person you were before."
One of the most important lessons she’s learned is to accept help. As an independent person, it was hard at first to lean on others, but she realized that "asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human, and even the strongest humans need help."
De La Cruz also wants others to understand the hidden financial strain that comes with battling cancer. "A lot of people don’t realize that surviving cancer physically doesn’t mean you survive emotionally, mentally, or financially," she emphasizes. "I had to start a GoFundMe just to keep our home because the cost of surviving cancer is astronomical."
Her advice to others facing similar challenges is to speak openly, accept help, and not to be ashamed to ask for it. "Survival isn’t just about your body—it’s about your whole life, and healing takes time."

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