I'm excited to tell you about 26-year-old Ashley Gayle-Boothe from Tampa, Florida because she's pretty exceptional. You see there was a chunk of time when Ashley was pretty certain that she couldn't get pregnant. She has endometriosis and doctors told her pregnancy was against the odds. Well, you probably can tell where this is going. She beat the odds! In March, Ashley got pregnant. That's awesome, right and makes for a great story on its own, but that's not where this story ends. Oh no, Ashley was just embarking on her pregnancy journey when things to a turn to the terrifying.
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About two weeks after finding out she was pregnant, she was putting on lotion to prevent stretch marks and she found a lump in her left breast. Tests revealed she had cancer in her left breast, muscle, and lymphy nodes.
Pregnancy alone is a lot to contend with, but pregnancy and a cancer diagnosis has got to be overwhelming. So what did Ashley do? She got a mastectomy and chemotherapy while pregnant. That is a HUGE decision to make and one that I'm sure she did not take lightly. In my biased opinion, most mothers to be are more worried about the health of their unborn baby than they are about their own health. Fortunately, Ashley was assured that her treatment would not affect her baby as it would not pass the placenta and the baby's spinal chord was closed.
Ashley is scheduled to be induced today (October 4), eight weeks early in order to give her and her son a better chance at avoiding complications. Doctors have been injecting steroids into the baby's lungs in an effort to make them stronger so that he can breathe on his own.
Ashley's cancer treatment is not over. She will undergo more surgery and chemo. I wish her strength, health, an uncomplicated delivery, and a long long life in which to enjoy her beautiful child.
Image via Kicking Cancer for Ashley/Facebook
