Couples chooses to have a baby after mom’s seven-year battle with incurable breast cancer

In December 2011, Trish Russo was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. 

The then 30-year-old, who was planning on having a baby with her husband, Greg, had to put her dreams of a family on hold as she immediately underwent chemotherapy and radiation.

She went through four different rounds of treatment over three years, but the cancer progressed to stage IV – and she was told it was incurable.

However, Trish was tired of putting off her plans of motherhood and – after warning  her husband that he might end up a single father – they turned to donor eggs and a surrogate.

Finally, in November 2016, the couple, from Los Angeles, California, welcomed their son Grayson.

In an exclusive with The Sun, Trish, now 37, is revealing why she went through the process despite knowing she could leave her son without a mother.

Trish Russo, 37 (pictured, with her son, Grayson), who was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, is revealing why she decided to have a child despite her terminal illness

Trish and her husband Greg (pictured, right and left) were planning on starting a family when Trish was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in December 2011 and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation

Trish and her husband Greg (pictured, right and left) were planning on starting a family when Trish was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in December 2011 and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation

The couple (pictured, with Grayson), from Los Angeles, California, decided to try again but, in 2013, Trish learned she had stage IV breast cancer and a tumor on her brain

The couple (pictured, with Grayson), from Los Angeles, California, decided to try again but, in 2013, Trish learned she had stage IV breast cancer and a tumor on her brain

Trish first went to visit her doctor after feeling a lump in her breast.

However, it took six months for her to finally be referred for an MRI after suffering from pain in her armpit.

Around Christmas 2011, she was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer, meaning her tumor was between two centimeters and five centimeters and that cancer cells had spread to her lymph nodes. 

Trish had to put her plans to start a family with Greg on hold so she could begin treatment. 

‘I pretty much got the whole gamut,’ she told The Sun. ‘I had chemotherapy to shrink the size of the tumor, radiation, and a single mastectomy. The entirety of 2012 was treatment.’

The couple decided to hold off on having a baby until Trish’s treatment was over.

She told The Sun she was planning to harvest her eggs and embryos until she felt healthy enough.

However, in 2013, Trish went to the doctor complaining of agonizing headaches. This time she was told she had stage IV breast cancer and a tumor on her brain.

Trish and Greg then decided to have a baby via IVF, but a scan revealed another tumor on Trish's brain (Pictured, Grayson)

That's when they turned to using donor eggs and a surrogate (Pictured, Grayson)

Trish and Greg then decided to have a baby via IVF, but a scan revealed another tumor on Trish’s brain. That’s when they turned to using donor eggs and a surrogate (Pictured, left and right, Grayson)

In January 2015, the couple (pictured, with Grayson) signed an agreement with a surrogacy agency

In January 2015, the couple (pictured, with Grayson) signed an agreement with a surrogacy agency

Trish said she warned Greg that he might be left a single father but he replied: 'I think you are going to be fine but, if you are to die, there's nothing I would rather do than have a child in your honor' (Pictured, Trish and Greg with Grayson)

Trish said she warned Greg that he might be left a single father but he replied: ‘I think you are going to be fine but, if you are to die, there’s nothing I would rather do than have a child in your honor’ (Pictured, Trish and Greg with Grayson)

‘The headaches were like nothing I’d ever experienced,’ Trish told The Sun.

‘At first, I thought they were stress-related, but I got a brain MRI and the doctors actually rushed me to the hospital in an ambulance and they put me on steroids straight away.

‘About a week later I had brain surgery to remove the tumor.’  

Trish was not told how long she had left to live, but the American Cancer Society states that the five-year survival rate after diagnosis for people with stage IV breast cancer is 22 percent.   

In April 2014, Trish and Greg decided to try for a baby via IVF but a scan revealed another tumor in Trish’s brain.

That’s when the couple knew that if they wanted a baby, they were going to need donor eggs and a surrogate. They signed the agreement with a surrogacy agency in January 2015.

‘I’ll never forget that conversation. Before we signed the agreement with the surrogacy agency, I said to [Greg]: “You have to be aware that you could be a single dad,”‘ Trish told The Sun.

‘He said: “I think you are going to be fine but, if you are to die, there’s nothing I would rather do than have a child in your honor”.’

Trish (pictured, with Grayson) said that there were many healthcare workers who did not encourage the decision

Trish (pictured, with Grayson) said that there were many healthcare workers who did not encourage the decision

After $125,000 in total spent on the donor egg, the surrogate and other medical and legal fees, Grayson (pictured, with Trish) arrived in November 2016 a healthy baby

After $125,000 in total spent on the donor egg, the surrogate and other medical and legal fees, Grayson (pictured, with Trish) arrived in November 2016 a healthy baby

Trish said she doesn't regret having Grayson (pictured)

She said she hope she is able to see her son (pictured) grow, start school and have a family one day

Trish said she doesn’t regret having Grayson (left and right) and that she hope she is able to see her son grow, start school and have a family one day

Not everyone provided the support that her husband did but Trish said she understood her prognosis and she didn’t want that to stop her from  fulfilling her dream of motherhood. 

‘There were doctors, oncologists, who didn’t understand why I would want to do this,’ she said.

‘But my doctors were very understanding. They were aware I knew what I was doing, that I understood my prognosis.’  

After $125,000 in total spent on the donor egg, the surrogate and other medical and legal fees, Grayson arrived in November 2016 a healthy baby.

Trish doesn’t regret the decision and hopes she is able to see her son grow, start school and have a family one day.  

‘Once a cancer has metastasized you can never say you are cured,’ she said. 

‘Statistically I know it will be back. I am hoping I am an anomaly, that I get to see my son to school for the first time, go to university, get married. I hope I get to experience all these things.’



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