Pink Cupcake Walk Survivor: Adiba Barney

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - At age 37, Adiba Barney was diagnosed with Stage IV, metastatic breast cancer.

This Lake Norman woman had already endured a long and winding road of IVF, survived early-stage breast cancer twice, and gone through a tough divorce. She thought with this new diagnosis her dreams of being a mother were crushed.

Before removing her ovaries to start treatment, Adiba and her husband Kris (second husband after the divorce) froze three embryos. The fertility doctor said they had 7% chance of success.

“It’s still a chance,” she said. Then, gratefully, she responded well to treatment.

“Hope came back,” Adiba said. “Kris and I started thinking about trying again. This time, with the help of a surrogate.”

On October 26, 2018—after 15 years of trying and longing to become a mom—Adiba, who was now 41, became a mother to her miracle son, Alex. “Our surrogate, Misha, was a superhero,” Adiba said. “But it also wasn’t an easy decision to make having a child despite living with end-stage cancer. I chose to believe I could in fact live a long time with MBC, and just kept thinking, what if 15 years down the road I regret not going for it?”

Adiba has now lived with metastatic breast cancer for 7 years and is one of the 25% who makes it past 5 years. For those who don’t know, metastatic breast cancer is livable, but not curable. You are never a “Survivor.” For that reason, we call those living with MBC, “Thrivers.”

Adiba is part of the non-profit METAvivor (www.metavivor.org) hosting an inaugural gala on Sept. 23 to raise funds for MBC research. You can find out more at www.lakenormanmets.org.

She’s also one of the Thrivers signed up for our Pink Cupcake Walk on Oct. 1 and has a large team of people coming with her. Adiba is just one of many reasons to SIGN UP FOR THE PINK CUPCAKE WALK. Join her, and other Thrivers, Survivors, and Fighters, and a ton of us from WBTV News.

Go here to register >> https://tinyurl.com/PCWTeamMolly

“I’m doing everything in my power to raise crucial funds for MBC research,” she said. “I want my son to know I did what I could not to leave him. and to change the outcome for end-stage breast cancer not just for me, but for other moms as well.”

In this photo of Adiba, Kris and Alex from earlier this year, Alex had just helped his mama shave her head because her treatment (Taxol) was causing hair loss.