Lauren Knowles gave birth to cancerous tumour

A mother of two was forced to ‘give birth’ to a cancerous mass alone in the toilet after believing she was pregnant.

Lauren Knowles, from Aberdeen, Scotland, was heartbroken when she discovered at seven-weeks ‘pregnant’ that her unborn baby was a deadly disease.

At 27-years-old, Ms Knowles was elated when her pregnancy test read positive, however after she noticed heavy spotting at seven and a half weeks she was sent for a scan.

She was then given the news that she was experiencing a molar pregnancy – a cluster of cells known as gestational trophoblastic disease.

Ms Knowles pictured during her treatment

Lauren Knowles was left heartbroken after believing she was pregnant only to find she had a cancerous mass inside her womb. She is pictured left while pregnant with second child Indi and right during treatment for her cancer

Doctors raised the alarm when she had an ultrasound, pictured, and despite removing cancerous tissue, the tumour continued to grow

Doctors raised the alarm when she had an ultrasound, pictured, and despite removing cancerous tissue, the tumour continued to grow

But Ms Knowles, of Aberdeen, has since recovered and now has two children with fiance Trent, right. Also pictured is her son Charlie, five

But Ms Knowles, of Aberdeen, has since recovered and now has two children with fiance Trent, right. Also pictured is her son Charlie, five

However, despite having the cancerous tissue removed and undergoing gruelling chemo, hair loss and relapsing, her tumour continued to grow at an alarming rate.

But after agonising stomach cramps, Ms Knowles ‘gave birth’ to the cancerous mass alone in the toilet after she felt the urge to push.

Ms Knowles, now 29, was over the moon once the tumour, which was the size of pear, was out as it meant she was finally cancer free.

And despite doctors warning she’d struggle to conceive in the future, she fell pregnant with Indi, now 10 months, one year later.

Ms Knowles, who now lives in Perth, Australia, said: ‘The tumour grew in my womb the same way a baby would, the same hormones were produced and my pregnancy tests always came back positive.

‘There was no way that I thought it was cancer but after I started bleeding, I had further tests when I was seven weeks pregnant.

‘The scan showed that the mass in my womb was cancer and I started chemotherapy straight away.

Ms Knowles, pictured during her cancer treatment, was forced to 'give birth' to the cancerous mass alone in a toilet

She was experiencing a molar pregnancy - a cluster of cells known as gestational trophoblastic disease

Ms Knowles, left and right during her cancer treatment, was forced to ‘give birth’ to the cancerous mass alone in a toilet

Despite doctors' warnings that she would struggle to conceive again, she fell pregnant months later and had daughter Indi, pictured

Despite doctors’ warnings that she would struggle to conceive again, she fell pregnant months later and had daughter Indi, pictured

Ms Knowles said she was 'relieved' when she gave birth to the tumour because 'the ordeal was finally over'

Ms Knowles said her new daughter was 'the light at the end of the tunnel'

Ms Knowles said she was ‘relieved’ when she gave birth to the tumour because ‘the ordeal was finally over’ and said her daughter was ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’

‘I lost all my hair and three months after starting treatment, I gave birth to the mass in the hospital toilets.

‘The mass was the same size as a baby at 17 weeks so it was a big tumour to push out with no assistance.

‘I was so relieved when I saw the tumour down the toilet as I knew my ordeal was finally over.

‘And after all my treatment, the light at the end of the tunnel was falling pregnant with Indi one year later.’

Ms Knowles first decided to go to the doctors after she started heavily spotting, this was seven and a half weeks after her first pregnancy test.

She added: ‘I wasn’t particularly nervous as I had spotted heavily with my first child, Charlie, five.

‘But doctors decided to do a scan just to double check the pregnancy was all running smoothly, and that’s when they told me that it was a molar pregnancy.

Ms Knowles, pictured after giving birth last year with her fiance and children, underwent five months of gruelling cancer treatment

Ms Knowles, pictured after giving birth last year with her fiance and children, underwent five months of gruelling cancer treatment

Charlie pictured with sister Indi

Ms Knowles with her daughter

Now she has moved to Australia with her family and is overjoyed to be starting a new life there. Pictured are Charlie and Indi, left, and Ms Knowles with her daughter, right

‘I didn’t even know what that was so they gave me a fact sheet – as I was reading it my heart just started to sink.

‘My tumour was cancerous so I started a low dose chemotherapy treatment, but the tumour kept growing back.

‘It was terrifying and one day I took my son to the park and pushed him on the swings, I looked down and saw that there was blood everywhere.

GESTATIONAL TROPHOBLASTIC DISEASE 

Gestational trophoblastic disease is a group of rare tumours that form after abnormal growth of cells in the uterus.

The cancer develops in cells that would normally develop into placenta that surround an embryo. 

Most growths are benign and do not spread throughout the body, but they can become cancerous.

All forms of the condition can be treated via surgery and in most cases the disease is completely cured.  

‘I had to be rushed to the hospital and that’s when I had six cycles of high toxin chemotherapy, and I lost all my hair in the week.’

After five months of treatment, Ms Knowles’ health continued to deteriorate during April 2015.

But the mother had a surprise in store and after severe cramps, she pushed the mass out while on the toilet.

She said: ‘I had a very strong pain in my stomach, so I got up and took my hospital drip to the toilet.

‘When I was sat on the toilet I felt myself having to push, and it was very painful.

‘After the pain I stood up and looked down the toilet and saw a massive dark mass in the pan.

‘A massive sense of relief came over me and I knew it was the end – I felt so thankful that the tumour was finally out of me.’

The enormous pear-sized tumour had damaged her womb and doctors warned she’d struggle to fall pregnant in the future.

But after being told to wait for a year to try for a child, Ms Knowles fell pregnant with her daughter, Indi, now 10-months-old, three months after her year-gap was up.

Ms Knowles said baby Indi, pictured with Charlie, was born via emergency caesarean

She described her daughter as absolutely perfect

Ms Knowles said baby Indi, left with Charlie and right, was born via emergency caesarean section and was ‘absolutely perfect’

She added: ‘My whole pregnancy I was terrified that it would be molar again, so I wasn’t able to enjoy the feeling of carrying a child.

‘When we went to our first scan and saw the baby’s heart beat I couldn’t stop crying because I knew it was real.

‘Indi was then born five-weeks early as an emergency c-section. She was absolutely perfect and I couldn’t believe I had actually had my dream second child, because I never thought it would happen.

‘I want to give people hope that even in the worst scenarios, what seems impossible is still possible, whilst raising more awareness to molar pregnancy.’ 



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