‘I will not give up’: Cancer patient turns to international treatment to live longer

Different forms of chemotherapy have been unsuccessful in shrinking her tumors, leaving the Quebec woman in agony and looking for medical help outside of Canada.

Mélanie Roussel just wants to live as long as possible.

The 36-year-old woman from Vaudreuil, Que., was first diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in March 2022. After grueling chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, she found out that the cancer had come back and metastasized to her liver in spring 2023.

“I am in pain. I’m tired but I keep finding ways to keep going,” Roussel said in an interview Monday.

Different forms of chemotherapy have been unsuccessful in shrinking her tumours, leaving Roussel in agony. Since December, she has been hospitalized every two weeks for the excruciating pain.

“They gave me maybe three months,” Roussel said of her time left to live as she wiped away tears. Her medical team in Quebec has “done everything.”

Since she was first diagnosed, Roussel has advocated for herself and delved into research. While she knows she can’t cure her aggressive form of cancer, she is determined to change the timeline she has been handed.

In the last few months, she has sought out different medical teams for alternative treatments in other countries like Germany and Portugal.

Now, she has finally found an option that won’t cure her cancer — but could at least give Roussel more time to spend with her wonderful family and friends, including her boyfriend and his nine-year-old son.