You can survive cancer and keepyour baby

DISCOVERING that you have cancer is heart wrenching for anyone, but when a sufferer is pregnant, the agony runs even deeper. Until very recently, the choice was stark: either abort the child or delay treatment until tafter the birth and put your lown ife in danger. But recent medical advances mean that having cancer while pregnant no longer has to mean a death sentence for the mother or child. And no one is more grateful for this than Chadderton woman Joanne Bottomley.

Reporter Jennifer Hollamby met her.

FEBRUARY 2006 was a good month for Joanne Bottomley. She and her husband Glenn were proud parents of three- month-old Alfie and they had just discovered they were expecting a second child.

But two months later their happiness turned to despair when Joanna found a lump in her breast.

Days later she was at the Highfield Hospital, preparingto be told her fate.

“The doctor took a biopsy and did an ultrasound and I had to wait outside while he looked at the results” she said.

“It was terrifying. There were about six other people there and — it sounds horrible to say this — I was hoping it wouldn’t be me. I was only 34.”

But it was her, and after further tests, Joanne, of Streetbridge, was told that she would need chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“It sounds silly, but the first thing I thought about was losing my hair” she said.

“I’m a hairdresser, so it’s really important to me.

“There was so much going on, the fact that it might affect the baby hadn’t even occurred to me.”

Soon afterwards she had a lumpectomy and the doctors hit her with news that she must consider an abortion.

“It was horrendous, the worst feeling you can imagine,” said Joanne (37)

“The doctor said they didn’t know what effect the chemo might have on the baby and that a test to determine that was 10 or 15 years down the line.

“I opted for the termination, thinking that, if it would make me better, I had to do it.

“But it was very hard. By this time I was around 22 weeks and the baby had started kicking. They gave me time to think and said that in the meantime I should see a specialist obstetrician called Varsha Mulik, at Tameside.

“I was all prepared for a termination, but something completely changed in me and Glenn when we went into the room to wait for her.

“It had a double bed in it, where you would have the termination, and pictures of angels.

“I suddenly realised I couldn’t do it. I’d never judge a woman who chose a termination, but it wasn’t for me.”

Luckily for Joanne, Miss Mulik gave her the option of carrying on with the pregnancy and having chemotherapy as well.

And so, at 25 weeks gestation, baby Lyla had her first blast of chemotherapy, still safe in the womb.

“I had two more blasts while pregnant and had to have really regular scans to check on Lyla and then they gave me a caesarian section at 32 weeks,” said Joanne. “I’m now in remission and going for check ups and Lyla (now two) is perfectly healthy.

“I feel overwhelmed by what I’ve been through. Having another baby to bring up and going to work kept me busy but it’s only starting to hit home now and I often get tearful.

“I don’t blame the doctors who advised the termination because they were doing what was best for me at the time, but I’m incredibly relieved that Miss Mulik had experience of this. She’s been wonderful.

“I hope that this option becomes better known so that other women don’t have to make such harrowing decisions.”

Miss Mulik said: “This option was not available to women until just eight years ago and there are still some doctors who are sceptical about this course of action, mainly because it is rare to come across women who are pregnant and suffering from cancer at the same time, so it’s still a very specialised area of medicine.

“Some doctors are concerned that the chemotherapy might damage the baby’s heart or brain and, earlier on in the pregnancy there are worries about miscarriage.

“But I knew it was permissible in certain cases because I came across it during my training.

“Once the pregnancy has progressed beyond a certain stage, it’s unlikely to harm the foetus and as long as you do regular scans, everything should be okay.

“If the cancer is very aggressive, it might not be advised, but even then there are options.

“It’s all about what the woman wants.

“You just need to put her at the centre of everything you do and keep her informed all the time.

“There was a small team of us working with Joanna and we were in constant contact with each other and with her and

we all worked together.

“The research is out there, but I think many doctors are not aware of it.

“I think doctors should be more open-minded about this type of treatment and widely consult with oncologists and specialist obstetricians.

“It’s fulfilling to know I can help women in this way and I’m here to tell them that it’s not all doom and gloom.

“Women are incredibly strong and babies are very resilient too.”