Brave Mum Shares Emotional Journey After Discovering Pregnancy While She and Husband Battled Cancer

A woman named Lee-Ann Erasmus has opened up about her emotional and heartbreaking experience after finding out she was pregnant—just weeks after both she and her husband, Petrus, were diagnosed with cancer.

According to Lee-Ann, the couple was still newly married when they were hit with the devastating news that Petrus had developed advanced liver cancer, with tumors already spreading.

The shock took a toll on her health, and only five weeks into an earlier pregnancy, she tragically suffered a miscarriage.

However, two months later, she discovered she was pregnant again—a moment of hope in a season of despair.

But her joy was short-lived. At just 17 weeks pregnant, she went into premature labour, which doctors linked to a cancerous growth found in her cervix. The diagnosis brought another wave of grief and fear.

Speaking about the ordeal, Lee-Ann said: “I’ve had days where it all felt too much,”

“But as a mum, you can’t just give up.

“My kids need me.

“We’re fighters in this family.

“We don’t quit.”

At 14 weeks into the pregnancy, a routine scan revealed that their unborn child had Down syndrome, and the couple was strongly urged to consider termination. However, they chose to continue with the pregnancy despite the risks involved.

By week 17, she began experiencing contractions, a signal that she might be going into early labor. Doctors immediately performed a cerclage—a surgical procedure to stitch shut the cervix—in an effort to prolong the pregnancy. During this procedure, abnormal growths were discovered.

Shortly afterward, she received the devastating diagnosis of Stage 2 cancer. Medical experts informed her that the type of cancer was highly aggressive, and delaying treatment until after childbirth was not an option.

She added: “There are cases where they’d simply wait for the pregnancy to end before starting treatment.

“But in my case, it was necessary to intervene immediately.”

Lee-Ann is currently undergoing chemotherapy in hopes of saving her unborn baby, whom she and her husband have lovingly named Haley. She also wants to stay strong for her two other children, whose names are being kept private.

Thankfully, her condition has stabilized. Doctors plan to induce labor at 36 weeks, and the hope is that Haley can stay safely in the womb until the end of the month, when she will be delivered via C-section.

After the delivery, Lee-Ann will undergo surgery to remove her cervix, uterus, and ovaries, followed by more aggressive rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.