Is pregnancy after cancer possible? Moms, read this inspiring story of a mom who was diagnosed and battled with a terminal disease in her 20s.
What can your read in this article?
- Learning she has cancer in her early 20s.
- Hypothyroidism during pregnancy
- The sweetest miracle – pregnancy after cancer
I was 21 when I first learned I had cancer. I remember how the doctor tried to comfort me that I should feel lucky enough to have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, aka, the “good” cancer.
I was informed of the treatments that I had to take, and the risks that come alongside losing my thyroid glands. It includes lifetime medications, hormonal imbalance, low-calcium levels, weakness, spasms, and worst of all, pregnancy problems (hypothyroidism during pregnancy is linked to miscarriages, low birth weight, low IQ in babies, and risk for down syndrome).
My doctor wanted to save the right side of my thyroid glands since I was at the peak of childbearing age but the tumor was too big that it was presumed to have affected the other side. So the final decision was to remove all of it.
Battling with cancer in your 20s
In 2015, I underwent a total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment for the purpose of eliminating the cancer cells. I thought all those procedures already saved me, but then life indeed has its own way of surprising me.
I was celebrating my 23rd birthday in 2017 when I received my test results showing that the cancer cells metastasized through my chest area.
It was the craziest, most devastating news I got on my birthday. I remember how I cried, how I summoned and asked God, why did it have to be me? It was like the whole world came crashing down on me.
It was so contradicting to call it good cancer because there is no such thing as “GOOD” cancer. Because when cancer hits you, it doesn’t only hit an organ.
Image from Shutterstock
It hits everything- your family, your finances, your perspective, your hope and it will even leave you with scars that can last forever. Visible or invisible.
Looking back, I still consider myself “blessed” even after what I went through. Maybe it’s important to emphasize that blessings do not only mean good things—sometimes it’s about bad things too.
I may have been in the darkest pit of my life, but I am blessed to experience God’s faithfulness in my life as He has always been with me.
He was there guiding the hands of all the doctors and nurses who handled my case. He was there in the heart of the people who helped me financially.
He was there through the presence of family and friends who stood and uplifted me when things looked dull and didn’t make sense. He was, He is, and He will always be with me.
Image from Shutterstock
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Pregnancy after cancer
To have survived cancer not only once, but twice, is a miracle. And among all the miracles I have witnessed, the sweetest one was in the form of human life growing inside me. I gave birth to my miracle baby last February 2019.
My pregnancy journey was not easy in my condition, but it was manageable. I was filled with fears and what-ifs, but it was a constant reminder to hold on to the belief that the God who saved me from cancer was the same God who protected me and my baby. God indeed is a compassionate God, He knows exactly what we need even before we ask it.
I couldn’t contain the joy I felt the very first time I held my daughter. It was surreal and rewarding. It was literally giving proof to the saying that “There is a light at the end of the tunnel” because all I know is that she is my light. She gives me a reason to love and enjoy my life all the more. My daughter is the best gift I have in my life right now.
As I look back at all the sad things that happened to me, I am thankful enough that I did not give up, I am thankful that I gave it a good fight. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today.
So whenever bad things come your way, remember that you are not alone, God is always with you. Stand still and keep the faith. Someday it will all make sense.