An Australian woman has revealed the heartbreaking moment she was told her baby was actually a cancerous tumour.
Lauren Knowles, from Perth, WA, visited the doctors seven-and-a-half weeks into her second pregnancy when she noticed an unusual amount of spotting.
The Scottish-born mother, 29, was then given the tragic news her pregnant belly was not growing a tiny fetus, but instead a cancerous cluster of cells – known as a molar pregnancy, also known as gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD).
Lauren Knowles (pictured) was devastated to learn her second pregnancy was not a baby, but a tumour
The Scottish-born mother-of-two was seven weeks pregnant when her doctor said she was having a ‘molar pregnancy’
Her immediate reaction was confusion. ‘How could there be no baby? It was a very bizarre and devastating thing to be told,’ Lauren told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was told by doctors it was a molar pregnancy. But my stomach was starting to swell and, in my head, I was pregnant.’
Armed with the obscure words ‘molar pregnancy’ and access to the internet, Lauren – who also has a five-year-old son, Charlie – went home and obsessively Googled her diagnosis – but to little avail.
The only thing the young mother knew was her baby was no more, and her growing stomach was home to a ball of cells instead – a rare diagnosis which affects only one in 1500 pregnancies.
‘It was so difficult to find any information on molar pregnancies which contributed to my anxiety,’ she explained.
‘I was told by doctors it was a molar pregnancy. But my stomach was starting to swell and, in my head, I was pregnant,’ Lauren said (she is pictured showing some of the after effects of her treatment)
The only thing the young mother knew was her baby was no more, and her growing stomach was home to a ball of cells instead – a rare diagnosis which affects only one in 1500 pregnancies
‘It was so difficult to find any information on molar pregnancies which contributed to my anxiety,’ she explained
‘I was an emotional wreck, my anxiety started spiralling out of my control, I knew it was in my head but I just couldn’t rein it back in, that in itself was so frustrating and upsetting to myself and those around me.’
But Lauren’s horror didn’t stop there.
The diseased tissue was initially removed though a D&C (Dilation and Curettage) operation, but her molar tumour grew back twice as fast.
In a cruel twist, Lauren also had to essentially ‘give birth’ to the mass of cells after experiencing labour-like cramps.
‘I started cramping and I thought, “I’ve felt this before”,’ she said.
‘And I went to the toilet and it… just came out. I passed the whole mass. That was just horrifying.’
Lauren was then treated like a cancer patient and spent hours in the oncology ward getting infusions of the dreaded chemotherapy.
But Lauren’s horror didn’t stop there. Her diseased tissue was initially removed though a D&C (Dilation and Curettage) operation, but her molar tumour grew back twice as fast (pictured is her ultra-sound scan)
‘It went from pregnancy to cancer in an instant… from joy to dread,’ Lauren said.
‘I’ll never forget the moment I had to re-label my pregnancy file to my cancer file.’
Forced to receive treatment in an oncology ward was an incredibly difficult place for Lauren to gain control of her emotions, surrounded by people who were dying.
Forced to receive treatment in an oncology ward was an incredibly difficult place for Lauren to gain control of her emotions, surrounded by so many people who were slowly dying
She was treated like a cancer patient and spent hours in the oncology ward getting infusions, and lost her beautiful long blonde hair (pictured)
‘I knew deep down I had a type of cancer that with treatment has a good survival rate, but being around other cancers with much worse prognosis made things so confusing,’ she said.
‘I was dragged into their dread, even though I had hope of survival.’
Three years after her complete molar pregnancy – including one traumatic relapse – Lauren is luckily cancer free and has even welcomed a new bundle of joy into her life.
And Eight months ago Lauren gave birth to a daughter, Indi, who she describes as her ‘little miracle’.
But after her traumatic experience, Lauren says the jubilation of learning she was pregnant again was quickly overshadowed by fear.
But now, three years after her complete molar pregnancy – including one traumatic relapse – Lauren is luckily cancer free and has even welcomed a new bundle of joy into her life (pictured with her mother)
Lauren told Daily Mail Australia she welcomed her little miracle, Indi, (pictured) eight months ago
But after her traumatic experience, Lauren says the jubilation of learning she was pregnant again was quickly overshadowed by fear
‘I was absolutely climbing the walls with anxiety when I found out I was pregnant again. I was so scared it would be another molar pregnancy, because once you have it you are statistically more at risk to have it again,’ she said.
‘I had to have an emergency c-section, and unfortunately my partner Trent was away at sea because she was early, but Indi came out perfect!’
Lauren now works to spread awareness about molar pregnancies on her Instagram and blog, and hopes no other woman feels in the dark ever again.
‘I hope by sharing my story others in my position can reach out for support and that I can give them hope that (even from the worst case scenario) they too can get their rainbow baby.’