‘My faith in God has helped me stay strong’

LEOMINSTER — Hyara Ton is certainly feeling the love from the community as she bravely battles breast cancer.

The city resident and small business owner announced the news on social media not too long ago with an apology for limited hours at Baluarte Cake Shop, her family-run Brazilian bakery located inside The Mall at Whitney Field on Commercial Road.

Ton was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and is currently at her sister’s home in Plymouth recovering from a March 5 bilateral mastectomy, the surgical removal of both breasts often used to treat breast cancer or prevent it in high-risk individuals.

“It has been a slow process, sometimes painful and very tiring, but I understand that this is part of the journey, and I know it will pass,” she recently shared. “At my next appointment my doctor and I will discuss the next steps in my treatment since the full plan has not yet been defined. For now, we remain hopeful that the surgery may have already been enough to bring healing.

“I feel as well as I can under the circumstances,” Ton said. “My routine has changed a lot and sometimes you just wish the days and hours would pass faster so the relief can come sooner. But I was very well cared for throughout this process. I am truly grateful to the medical team, the surgeons and everyone at the hospital who supported me. Their care and compassion have meant a lot to me during this time.”

The female entrepreneur was born in the city of Resplendor in Brazil, where she grew up, studied and raised her three children. She immigrated to the United States in 2015 with her kids and they lived in Plymouth, where her sister and brother-in-law welcomed them.

“They had already been living here for many years,” she said of her family. “Soon after arriving I started working very hard. I worked nights in a restaurant kitchen and during the day in a laundry. I kept that routine for two years.”

Ton has always loved baking. When she lived in Brazil, she worked decorating children’s parties through a business called Baluarte Festas, which translates from Portuguese to English as baluarte meaning bastion, stronghold, or main defender, and festas meaning parties or celebrations.

“That was my first contact with desserts, through the decorations and sweets that were part of those celebrations,” she recalled.

Ton disclosed that when she moved to the U.S., she started baking “more out of necessity.”

“I wanted to stop working nights so I could spend more time with my children,” she said, a sentiment many parents can relate to. “I kept my daytime job at the laundry but left the restaurant job and began baking cakes and sweets at home for friends and family. In 2018, I made my first Easter production of desserts and from that moment on I never stopped.”

The following year she got married and moved to the Boston area. Around that time, Ton began focusing on the art of baking — studying recipes, learning more about the craft and developing her skills. She chose to focus on making brigadeiros, a traditional Brazilian chocolate sweet similar to truffles that is her specialty at her shop and a favorite of hers since childhood.

“In Brazil this small chocolate sweet is part of our culture and is present at almost every celebration and party. Brigadeiros may seem simple, but they require technique and the right choice of ingredients,” she said.

Her “passion for baking only continued to grow” and two years later her brigadeiros were being sold in more than 15 Brazilian markets across 12 different cities.

“That’s when the dream of opening my own shop started to become real,” Ton relayed.

She and her family moved to Leominster in 2022 and sometime later they “found a space that felt like the right place for us to open our store.”

“My dream was to create a place where people could enjoy a good cup of coffee along with the desserts I make,” she said of their homebase in the mall food court that has plenty of seating.

Ton disclosed that while the response to her bakery “has been very positive,” running a successful business has “been challenging” to say the least.

“We understand that it is a process, especially for stores located inside a mall today. Still, I feel very grateful,” she said. “The people who work in the mall are very kind and over time friendships are created. It becomes a very welcoming and supportive environment where people help each other.”

Some of their most popular items with Baluarte customers besides the brigadeiros are their iced coffee drinks and a creamy cake served in a cup, a confection called a Wonder Cup.

Ton said receiving the diagnosis of breast cancer from her doctor the third week of January “was one of the hardest moments of my life.”

“At first, it’s very hard to accept,” she said. “Every appointment brings uncertainty, sleepless nights, and many questions that don’t always have immediate answers. But I have always been a strong woman.

“After the first shock, something inside you begins to change,” Ton continued. “Strength slowly grows, and faith becomes even more important. My faith in God has helped me stay strong, face each step with courage and continue moving forward with hope.”

Her treatment and surgery have been at Emerson Hospital in Concord. Ton said she is “very grateful for the care I have received there” and would like to thank her doctors, Dr. Elizaveta Ragulin Coyne and Dr. Justin Broyles, “for their dedication and support throughout this process.”

Besides the wonderful care she has received from her medical team, Ton feels incredibly blessed because she has received so much additional backing and love.

“My husband, my children, and my entire family, both the ones who live here and those who are still in Brazil, have been by my side through everything,” she said. “I also have childhood friends who live far away but continue to encourage me every day and I have friends from my church who pray for me and genuinely care about what I am going through. And there is also a small team, small in number but enormous in love, that has been helping keep my shop open. They have not spared any effort to support me during this difficult time. That means more to me than I can express.”

In addition, Ton said the support she has felt from the greater community and her loyal customers and all the people who continue to buy delicious treats from her bakery “has truly surprised me in the most beautiful way” — which isn’t really surprising considering how sweet and adored the grandmother of three is.

“I never imagined that so many people would come together to help and encourage me during such a difficult moment in my life. People have shared my story, sent messages, visited the shop, and offered help in so many different ways,” Ton said with gratitude. “Many came just to show kindness, to support the business, or even to pray for me. Every gesture, no matter how small it may seem, has meant so much. This experience has reminded me how powerful a community can be. I feel incredibly grateful and deeply touched by the kindness, generosity, and compassion people have shown me. It’s something I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life.”