A mother diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy feared she would lose her baby and claims her GP mistook the lump for a blocked milk duct.
Kirsty Guy, 30, found an 8cm lump on her right breast in March 2019 and assumed it was because she was 11 weeks pregnant.
Her GP allegedly reassured her it was likely a symptom of her pregnancy, and a milk duct in her breast may be clogged or damaged.
But the lump became increasingly painful, and Mrs Guy was sent for tests. She was diagnosed with breast cancer while 15 weeks pregnant.
The nursery nurse immediately panicked that she would lose her baby. In some cases, mothers-to-be have to consider abortion if they are very early on in their pregnancy.
Mrs Guy and her husband, Shawn, 29, were told they could continue with their pregnancy, and the baby would not be harmed by chemotherapy.
Hallie was born prematurely and Mrs Guy underwent a further six rounds of gruelling treatment, a mastectomy on her right breast and a reduction on her left breast.
Both mother and baby are now healthy seven months on, and Mrs Guy was given the all-clear from cancer on February 12 this year.
Kirsty Guy, 30, who was diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy feared she would lose her baby. Hallie is pictured after birth in July 2019, ten weeks premature
Mrs Guy immediately panicked that she would lose her baby when she was diagnosed with cancer. She is pictured with her two daughters, Scarlett, three and Hallie, seven months
Mrs Guy, also mother to Scarlett, three, said: ‘Hallie was planned and we were over the moon when we found out we were having her.
‘But after I was diagnosed, I didn’t know if I’d be able to have her at all. I was terrified, it was horrific.’
Mr and Mrs Guy from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had been planning to have a second child for years and were over the moon when they found out they were expecting in January 2019.
When Mrs Guy found the lump in March, she initially assumed it was a symptom of the pregnancy.
She said: ‘I was sitting on the toilet and I looked down and there was a huge lump under my bra that had just appeared out of nowhere.
‘I just thought it was because I was pregnant, the doctor told me it was a blocked milk duct.’
Breasts can go through various changes during pregnancy, including swelling, tenderness and changes in nipples.
A lump in the breast or a red, swollen area that is painful could be a symptom of a condition called mastitis where the milk is built up.
In non-breastfeeding women, mastitis most often occurs when the breast becomes infected as a result of damage to the nipple, according to the NHS.
When Mrs Guy found the lump in March, 11 weeks pregnant, she initially assumed it was a symptom of the pregnancy. Then it became painful over the next month
Because Mrs Guy was 15 weeks pregnant and in her second trimester when she was diagnosed, she and her baby would be safe through chemotherapy. Mrs Guy had six rounds of weaker chemotherapy before Hallie was born. Pictured: Mrs Guy is wearing a cooling cap to reduce chemotherapy to her head and prevent hair loss
Hallie was born 10 weeks premature, although it is not clear why. Sometimes doctors induce birth early because the mother needs stronger cancer treatment. Hallie also had meningitis, for which she was treated for 21 days in hospital. She has full recovered
Mrs Guy said one month after the lump had first appeared, it became painful and she was referred to the Countess of Chester Hospital for a biopsy.
She was subsequently diagnosed with grade three breast cancer during pregnancy, which occurs in one in 3,000 pregnancies according to Cancer Research UK. She is unclear what stage it was.
Mrs Guy said: ‘I was so scared. I was panicking and I didn’t know if I’d be able to keep the baby.
‘I didn’t even feel pregnant anymore because I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
‘I would have had to have an abortion because I’ve got Scarlett to think about, she’s priority and I had to be around for her.
‘When the doctor said I could keep the baby I just thought “thank God”. I felt pregnant again.’
Rarely, some women may need to think about termination of their pregnancy in order to save their own lives and start treatment. This is usually recommended if the woman is less than 14 weeks pregnant.
Because Mrs Guy was 15 weeks pregnant and in her second trimester when she was diagnosed, it was deemed safe for Mrs Guy to continue her pregnancy while starting treatment.
Mrs Guy had six rounds of weaker chemotherapy before daughter Hallie was born in July last year.
Mrs Guy said: ‘When the doctor said I could keep the baby I just thought “thank God”.’ Rarely, some women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy may need to think about termination of their pregnancy in order to save their own lives and start treatment
Mrs Guy, pictured with her husband, Shawn, and their children said: ‘We would have liked to have had more children but it’s just not worth the risk. I have to be around for the two I’ve got’
Hallie was born ten weeks premature, although it is not clear why. Sometimes doctors induce birth early because the mother needs stronger cancer treatment.
Hallie also had meningitis, for which she was treated for 21 days in hospital. She has full recovered.
Mrs Guy went on to have six further rounds of treatment after the birth and a mastectomy on her right breast.
Mrs Guy claims she was told by nurses after she’d given birth that the cancer had been triggered by her pregnancy.
It had been there before she was pregnant, but a surge in hormones had activated the tumour to grow.
There is no evidence to support that pregnancy can directly cause or trigger cancer. However, hormones do play a role in some of the most common cancers.
Mrs Guy said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when they told me it had been triggered by the pregnancy. Nobody had heard of anything like it before.
‘My dad, Phil, died of cancer when I was 15 and he was only 52 so it was scary. I thought I was going to die.
‘We would have liked to have had more children but it’s just not worth the risk. I have to be around for the two I’ve got.’