Cancer may have robbed Jennifer Campisano of her breasts, but she refused to let it deprive her daughter of breast milk.
Jennifer had been diagnosed with breast cancer just months after the birth of her son, and had to stop breastfeeding him immediately to start chemo and have a double mastectomy.
But six years later, Jennifer, now 39 was shocked to learn she was pregnant again.
Determined that her daughter get all the possible health benefits of breast feeding, she formed a bootstrapped network of other new mothers – some she knew, some she didn’t – to donate their extra milk to nourish her newborn.
Jenifer Campisano recruited some 15 women to donate breast milk to feed her six-month-old daughter, Noelle, since the breast cancer survivor no longer can nurse
Jennifer had been nursing her son, Quinn, for five months when she discovered a lump.
The lump was alarmingly large and seemed to be growing aggressively.
News only got worse at the doctor’s office: scans of Jennifer’s chest showed worrisome spots littering her lungs and chest wall.
From the looks of it, she had no time to waste.
Jennifer was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer and told she had to immediately trade breast feeding for breast surgery.
There were times when she would turn her head into my chest, because that’s what babies do: they root around for their mom’s breasts, and I would just start crying because I felt like I couldn’t give her what she needed
She had to ween Quinn as fast as possible and have a chemo port was placed in her chest, just where she might have put a nappy when holding her infant son.
She underwent chemotherapy for nearly a year, but 11 months into treatment, there were more suspicious spots in new places.
A familiar pattern developed.
‘I would be fine when I was on chemo, then as soon as I went off of it, [spots] would pop up again,’ Jennifer says.
Things went on like this – treatments every three months, then more scans, then more treatments – until the spring of 2016, when more tests finally revealed that the spots still plaguing Jennifer’s chest cavity were an autoimmune disease that masquerades as cancer.
Finally, for the first time in over four years, Jennifer quit chemo for good.
Jennifer was diagnosed with breast cancer just five months after the birth of her son, Quinn, and had to immediately ween him to begin chemo treatments
Almost exactly a year later, she and her husband, Chris got another shock – but this time it was a welcome one.
Remarkably, Jennifer was pregnant.
‘I had been in chemically-induced menopause for a couple of years [prior to going off chemo], so it was a complete surprise.
In November of 2017, Noelle was born, perfectly healthy, perfectly on time for her due date.
‘But I didn’t, at this point, have breasts any more. I didn’t have any way to nurse her, but I wanted that, I wanted her to have all of those health benefits’ Jennifer says.
During breastfeeding, antibodies get transferred from mother to baby, boosting the infant’s immune system to help them fight off bacterial and viral infections. This immunity infusion also lowers risks for allergies and asthma and improves gut health.
Jennifer knew, and still stresses, that ‘the healthiest thing is just for a baby to be fed,’ no matter where their nourishment comes from.
After the birth of her son, Quinn (left) Jennifer (right) spent several years in chemically induced menopause, so she and her husband, Chris, were shocked when she got pregnant again
‘The last thing I would want is to shame anyone that hasn’t been able to nurse,’ Jennifer says, but it was something that she desperately wanted.
She had heard that you could buy or get donated breast milk, but was a little wary. Jennifer quizzed her doctor and a couple of close friends about alternative ways to feed Noelle.
While only a small percentage of women do not produce breast milk, many produce and pump more than their baby needs.
As a result, companies that buy and sell breast milk, as well as donation banks have cropped up in recent years.
But Jennifer had been warned of scams; people watering down breast milk, or reselling formula.
Jennifer endured chemo treatments every three months for years before doctors realized that her apparent cancer was actually an autoimmune disease
With her doctor on board, Jennifer wanted to keep her milk more local.
So she started with other friends that had had cancer, who connected Jennifer to their donors.
Tina, thee mother of one of her Quinn’s friends had had a baby a few months before and lived nearby.
‘She’d come over and bring fresh milk, and my husband had a couple of people who sent milk from Chicago and elsewhere. That was frozen, but we’ve got a stash right now in our fridge,’ Jennifer says.
Six months after Quinn’s birth, Jennifer estimates she has about 15 women donating milk now.
‘Some of these women, I had never met and, at the beginning I was a little nervous about taking bodily fluids from strangers to give to my baby,’ she says.
At times, giving those women’s milk to Noelle was psychologically painful for Jennifer, too.
‘It’s emotional, especially in the beginning, because your emotions are running high after pregnancy any way. There were times when she would turn her head into my chest, because that’s what babies do: they root around for their mom’s breasts, and I would just start crying because I felt like I couldn’t give her what she needed,’ she says.
Noell is now six months old, and has had a constant supply of breast milk since birth
‘But then, to be able to say that I was able to give her breast milk, even if it didn’t come straight from my body was really rewarding and helped to alleviate some of the sadness I was feeling about not being able to nurse her.’
Noelle liked some of her milk samples better than others, but the most important thing is that she is fed.
And for Jennifer, some of the women that help to feed her daughter are also now people she shares meals with, too.
‘It’s hard not to develop a closer relationship when you’re getting nourishment for your child for these women,’ she says.
For example: ‘Tina and I were friendly before, but not particularly close. Now our families get together for dinners and she and I will get together with our babies for walks and it’s because I feel extremely connected to their family now.’
‘It’s really had a special impact on my life, and my daughter’s, and someday she’ll know the extent of that,’ Jennifer says.