SLO mom battling stage 4 cancer marries her sweetheart: ‘Nothing is going to stop me’
Devoted mother. Loving girlfriend. Cherished member of the San Luis Obispo community.
Those are some of the words that describe 33-year-old Brittany Hunt, who received the jolting news this summer. She has life-threatening cancer.
On Oct. 13, with uncertain days ahead, Hunt did something fun that distracted her from her illness — she got married.
Five years to the day after she met Travis Hunt of Los Osos through a dating app, they tied the knot.
“It was just emotional,” Brittany Hunt said at her home. “I thought I was going to cry a lot more than I did, but I think I held it together pretty well. But everybody there knew what I was going through and I think I felt the love and support that much more, and it was just more emotional for me.”
Since June, Hunt has been fighting to overcome stage 4 cervical cancer, which now is spreading to her liver. She has received four of six planned rounds of chemotherapy to combat the life-threatening illness.
Dozens of friends, family and coworkers have come to Hunt’s assistance, saying that she is a really good person who can use the help. They have delivered meals, hosted fundraisers, helped plan her wedding, and babysat her 16-month old son, Paxton.
“Brittany is the best friend I’ve ever had,” said Kacie Cooper, a server at San Luis Obispo’s Eureka restaurant, where Hunt previously worked. “She was strong and confident even before she got this devastating news. And while it seems impossible, I’ve seen her find a strength that only a mother could have.”
Wedding celebration in SLO
Brittany and Travis Hunt met via the dating service Zoosk, and learned they had 78 mutual friends. Many of those people joined the couple on their special day.
On Oct. 13, in front of 210 family members and friends in San Luis Obispo, Brittany exchanged vows with Travis, the father of her child.
She wore an elegant white gown that had to be altered in the mid-section multiple times because of all the weight she lost.
To hide hair loss from chemo, she wore a blond wig made of human hair. Her friend, a hair stylist quietly raised the money to purchase the wig, hiding posts on social media from Hunt about her efforts leading up to the wedding.
The celebration at La Cuesta Ranch included impassioned speeches, long-distance family reunions, lots of photos and enthusiastic consumption of three kegs donated by a friend.
In advance of the celebration, other friends washed and prepared tablecloths for the wedding to save money. Medical bills in the thousands of dollars are starting to pile up, the Hunts said.
Travis Hunt — a 32-year-old telecommunications equipment construction worker whose company is based out of Paso Robles — described the special day.
“I thought I was going to cry (during the ceremony) like a little baby, but somehow kept it together,” he said. “It was a lot of laughing, a lot of fun, a lot of crying.”
The newlyweds’ post-ceremony photos feature a brightly smiling bride, side by side with her new husband. In one picture, Brittany Hunt’s tattooed arms are raised together with Travis’ in triumph.
“To see her marry her best friend and watch their dream come true was truly an honor, and I feel blessed to have been a part of it,” Cooper said. “She has handled this with grace and dignity and proven that she really is a superhero.”
“It has been so special to see our small community come together in support of her and Travis,” Cooper added. “They are both a staple here in SLO.”
Cancer diagnosis changes everything
Brittany Hunt recalled the moment she was diagnosed in June at a Los Angeles hospital, after showing symptoms that included lumps.
“Of course I cried, but the first thing I thought of was of course my son. ‘Will I be there for him?’ ” Hunt said. “That was my main concern, and of course, ‘What do I need to do to make that happen?’”
Since then it has been a “roller coaster” of chemotherapy treatments in Los Angeles, doctor’s appointments and juggling family duties, she said. Hunt has taken time off from her dental assistant job at SLO Smiles in San Luis Obispo; before that, she was a server at Eureka for five years.
Through both jobs, Hunt has gained many close friends. She calls their ongoing support overwhelming — saying that it’s reached a level she wouldn’t have expected.
Doctors have given her “no timeline” on how long long she might live or her chances for survival, Hunt said, and she doesn’t want to know — instead choosing to remain optimistic.
Chemotherapy leaves her winded and struggling to do basic tasks. Some days are better than others.
On a recent Thursday morning, the Hunts shared a family moment in their living room.
Travis Hunt, home after traveling for work, set up a toy bicycle rocker and little Paxton swayed back and forth to his heart’s content.
“I will fight like hell to stay here for my son and family,” Brittany Hunt said, “and nothing, not even a stage 4 diagnosis, is going to stop me.”
How to help the Hunts
A GoFundMe page, Brit’s Battle, has been set up to help the Hunt family at https://www.gofundme.com/f/93m56-britt039s-battle. As of Monday, $12,338 had been raised toward a $50,000 goal.
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 4:45 AM.
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