She Went In For A 10-Week Scan And Doctor Told Her That Her Baby Was Actually A Cancer Mass

Sep 12, 2019 by apost team

A couple who wants to raise a family together can be extremely delighted to discover that they are pregnant. There is a lot of anticipation and celebration as parents-to-be imagine a future that they had always dreamed about. Unfortunately, a positive pregnancy test does not always guarantee that a baby will be born healthy. Many women go through the tragedy of losing their babies while they are still pregnant, and this can often cause intense devastation. 

However, one couple expecting a child was devastated to discover their pregnancy was actually a dangerous cancer diagnosis. Joe Cowling and Grace Baker-Padden from Durham, UK, had not planned the pregnancy, but they were overjoyed to find discover that Grace had fallen pregnant. Quite soon after, they had already been discussing names and had even shared their news with their parents.

As soon as they found out, they had taken five other tests just to confirm the news, and all the tests pointed to the fact that she was expecting. However, they were in for a major shock when the scan showed a mass instead of a baby when they went in for their 10-week scan in September 2019. 

Naturally, this news was extremely horrifying for the couple, both of whom were shocked and afraid. The news was even more painful for them because Grace had already been showing signs of pregnancy, such as vomiting, which she chalked as morning sickness, as well as mild abdominal swelling. Grace began to worry that she might have been going through a miscarriage when she experienced some bleeding, but this was not the case. 

After worrying that her bleeding might be dangerous, Grace approached a doctor right away. "We just wanted things to be OK," she said as she recalled their scan in February 2018. But they knew immediately from her scan that it "didn't' look right" according to Stuff.co.nz.

Grace, who is 23-years-old, stated to the Mirror, “It was such a shock. From planning this exciting new future as a family to suddenly no baby and my health at risk was awful.” She just wanted the mass out of her as quickly as possible. The doctor’s news caused Grace’s world to crash down around her.

When Grace appeared to be pregnant originally, both Grace and Joe were surprised. Grace had been on the pill. They took four different tests and saw a GP, who also confirmed it. They decided to keep the pregnancy and they were excited and happy. Their parents were thrilled as well.

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Grace soon began getting sick every morning. She thought it was just morning sickness. The swelling in her belly made her think it was also the pregnancy. When she saw spots of blood, she and Joe saw her GP when she was at 8 and 10 weeks. She worried she might be having a miscarriage.

When the couple had a scan in February, they were very nervous. They wanted things to be okay, but they soon saw the scan didn’t look quite right. They didn’t see a baby shape. "There was no baby shape – it looked like a bunch of grapes. The midwife said it looked like a ‘molar pregnancy’, and went to find a doctor," Joe said to the Mirror. 

The young couple began to panic. A molar pregnancy was confirmed. A molar pregnancy is caused when an unfertilized egg implants itself in the uterus. This caused her hormone levels to soar and mimicked a pregnancy.

Once percent of these cases are cancerous. The couple was devastated. The mass in her uterus was removed just two days later and it was discovered that it was cancerous. Grace then underwent 6 months of chemotherapy to bring her hormones down. "We’d gone from expecting a baby to having the C-word thrown about. We were both really upset," Grace told the British tabloid. 

She was admitted to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Sheffield. This unit is meant to help 13 to 24-year-olds. Joe was able to stay with her while there. She was treated more as an outpatient before going on a stronger medication in December.

Just two days after Christmas, Grace discovered she was finally cancer-free. They hope to have a baby someday but they want to wait for Grace’s hormone levels to balance out. There is a 15 percent chance cancer will return.

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