Few things are more devastating for a mother to hear than "You have cancer." The fear of what will happen to her family and her children if she can no longer take care of them can be all-consuming. A mom from Texas got the news that she had stage 3 breast cancer while she was pregnant with her third child. She knew that she would have to fight for the husband and three children she always dreamed of.
Tiffany Madison-Fogg told People she received the grim diagnosis when she was eight months pregnant with her daughter. Doctors told her the cancer was aggressive, and if she didn't act fast, she was looking at six months to live. That was nearly two years ago, and she continues to fight every day.
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Her husband was deployed when she received the news.
Tiffany said her husband, Matt, was in Germany for his final Army deployment when she received her diagnosis. The family had big plans for his return, but a cancer battle wasn't one of them.
"It was very surreal and very devastating," he told People. "The worst part is when you're there and you can't do anything initially, and you have to wait for the command to release you so you can go home."
Tiffany promptly began treatment.
At age 42, she had two chemotherapy treatments before giving birth to her daughter, Madeline, in April 2022. After recovering from her C-section, she had more chemo, a mastectomy, and 33 rounds of radiation. Sadly, the cancer came back at stage 4 in August of that same year.
"It's so hard emotionally having Madeline, my youngest, and imagining that she would grow up without me and not know me is really devastating," Tiffany said.
The heartbroken mother knew exactly what she needed to do.
Faced with the reality that her life might be shorter than she had hoped, she began to plan for her children's future without her. She started an advice book for her kids but decided that wasn't enough. She wanted the kids to see her and hear her voice.
"I started making videos of different lessons I've learned and want to share with them. I made a list of all the things I would want to tell them about things like dating and showing up as yourself in the world, about being kind to yourself," she told People. "Everything from practical to emotional advice — even our Christmas traditions and how to handle their first breakup."
Although it is cathartic for his wife, Matt has difficulty with the videos.
He shared with People that listening to Tiffany record the videos can be challenging. Matt doesn't like to think about what the videos really mean.
"It's difficult. I don't know how to explain it. A lot of times I couldn't be in the room when she was recording the videos. I had to go elsewhere." he told People. "It's just difficult to think about. There's a lot of stuff I had to work through and talk about — things I hope no one has to think about at our age. We would go into MD Anderson [Cancer Center] for her treatment, and everyone would look at us because we were the youngest people in the room. There we were in the middle of our lives."
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Tiffany is responding well to a new experimental treatment.
She shared on a fundraising page that she is participating in treatments in Honduras that are killing her cancer. She is thrilled and said she will have another scan in early February.
"Targeted Osmotic Lysis is dissolving my cancer. This is the cancer breakthrough we needed, as MILLIONS of millennials become the youngest generation to get cancer in droves," she wrote on Facebook. "I'm four sessions in, and I go back tomorrow, and it's happening. I'm in shock."
The family is accepting donations through the Tiffany Madison-Fogg Foundation. They have raised more than $96,000 of a $150,000 goal thus far.
"Tiffany was given six months to live in February 2022 and has defied every single prognosis," the fundraiser reads. "You're helping a beloved woman. There will be no going gently into any good night. Please help us get Tiffany the resources she needs to return to remission."
