When Danielle Salazar and her husband began IVF, she believed they were building the family life they had always hoped for.
Instead, the fertility journey led to a devastating discovery: doctors found she had terminal cancer. Soon afterward, Salazar received another painful blow.
As the 39-year-old from Forks, Washington, went through cancer treatment, she learned that her husband had been unfaithful.
He eventually left Salazar for the woman with whom he had been having an affair, forcing her to confront an overwhelming medical battle without the partner she expected to have by her side.
Salazar said she and her now-former husband, whose identity has not been made public, began dating in 2019 and married three years later. After their wedding, they started trying to conceive.
“I really wanted a child with my husband. It wasn’t happening, so we decided to go through IVF,” she said.
During the IVF process, medical scans revealed a 10-centimeter mass on Salazar’s left ovary. At first, doctors assured her that it was only a cyst and did not appear dangerous.
Salazar already had polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, along with irregular menstrual cycles and intense cramping. Wanting answers and relief, she pushed to have the growth removed.
Danielle Salazar’s IVF journey led to the discovery of a tumor on her left ovary, followed by a cancer diagnosis earlier this year
Salazar, 39, of Forks, Washington, learned her husband had cheated while she was undergoing cancer treatment
“They told me that because it was ‘just a cyst,’ surgery wasn’t medically necessary. But something in my gut told me otherwise,” Salazar recalled.
She went ahead with the operation. Afterward, her doctor told her the growth had not been a cyst at all—it was a tumor discovered during the procedure.
Salazar was sent to the oncology team at Virginia Mason in Seattle. There, she underwent multiple surgeries as doctors worked to treat the disease while trying to protect her ability to have children.
“It was surgery after surgery. I wanted a child, and I was trying to preserve my fertility in any way I could,” she said.
Eventually, her oncologist warned that a hysterectomy was essential to save her life.
In December 2023, surgeons removed Salazar’s fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, cervix, part of her omentum and a section of her bladder wall.
The procedure ended her ability to carry a pregnancy and brought on menopause. Her recovery was also intensely painful.
“I’d had many surgeries before, and I can handle pain, but that was the most painful experience of my life,” she said.
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Salazar was diagnosed with stage IV low-grade serous carcinoma that had spread to her peritoneum and lymph nodes
Salazar and her oncologist plan to explore clinical trials, but she was told after receiving the diagnosis in January that she may have only 18 to 36 months to live
While she was declared cancer free after that, near the end of 2025 she started to develop nausea, fatigue and a ripping sensation when she lay on her stomach.
In January 2026, a blood test and CT scan revealed the cancer had returned, and this time it had spread.
‘A CT scan showed tumors throughout my abdomen and down to my pelvic floor,’ she revealed.
Salazar’s diagnosis was stage IV low-grade serous carcinoma with spread to her peritoneum and lymph nodes.
At first, medication suppressed the tumors, but it has now stopped working; the tumors cannot be surgically removed because they cannot be separated from the organs they are attached to.
She and her oncologist plan to discuss clinical trials, however, she was told in January when she first received the diagnosis that she likely only has 18-36 months left.
Then came another devastating blow.
In August, Salazar said a member of her husband’s family told her he was having an affair and shared video proof.
‘[I confronted him over the phone and] he didn’t deny it,’ she said. ‘Once it was confirmed I immediately threw up.
Despite all the heartache, Salazar is now trying to make the most of her time left and has spent the last few months traveling and connecting with other cancer patients
‘I was in Arizona at the time visiting my brother when I found out, so this was all over the phone.
‘I watched my husband leave on my front door camera and haven’t seen him since. For the first time in eight months I didn’t think about cancer for a full day.’
Salazar filed for divorce immediately after.
‘I honestly am still processing it. To do that to a person is horrible, but to do it to your dying partner? I didn’t know that level of evil existed so close to me,’ she said.
Despite all the heartache, Salazar is now trying to make the most of her time left and has spent the last few months traveling and connecting with other cancer patients.
‘I took what life gave me and made it as beautiful as I could,’ she said. ‘That’s what I want my legacy to be. I want others to do the same.’
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