A mum who found out she was pregnant while her husband battled a “brutal” form of cancer has revealed that she’s been diagnosed with the aggressive disease too.
Lee-Ann Erasmus and her husband, Petrus, were only weeks into their honeymoon period, following tying the knot, when their whole world came crashing down.
The pair, aged 38 and 49, found out that he had growths forming on his liver, which was advanced-stage cancer.
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Due to the “brutal” treatment involved, their plans to start a family were put on hold – but then Lee-Ann discovered she was pregnant.
Sadly, this ended in a miscarriage at five weeks, though two months later, she had another positive test.
Their joy wasn’t to last, though, as the mum-of-two was rushed to hospital when she went into labour at just 17 weeks.
And it was because there were cancerous growths on her cervix.
“I’ve had days where it all felt too much,” she told Need To Know.
“But as a mum, you can’t just give up.
“My kids need me.
“We’re fighters in this family.
“We don’t quit.”
Lee-Ann, who used to work as a life insurance policy manager, met Petrus when sorting out his policy.
The pair got engaged one year later and quickly tied the knot.
But, weeks later, Petrus began experiencing sharp pains in his side, which turned out to be the aforementioned cancer.
Heartache followed the family as they were told at their 14-week scan that their baby had Down syndrome and were urged to terminate the pregnancy.
They refused, but at 17 weeks, Lee-Ann started experiencing painful contractions, signalling labour.
At the hospital, emergency surgery was carried out to stitch shut her cervix, where abnormal growths were spotted.
It was stage two cervical cancer, which is so aggressive, treatment can’t wait until the baby is born.
She is now undergoing chemotherapy in a bid to save their baby, which they have named Haley, and to see her two other children [not named for privacy reasons] grow up.
Lee-Ann, from Bela-Bela, Limpopo, South Africa, said: “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.”
Along the way, there have been some scares, including when contractions started again.
Luckily, she was stabilised, though it’s suggested she will be induced at 36 weeks.
It’s hoped Haley will remain in the womb until the end of this month, then be delivered via c-section.
At this point, Lee-Ann will have her cervix, uterus and ovaries removed, followed by more intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The family are now raising funds to help with out-of-scheme bills.
Petrus’ cancer, however, cannot be cured, and it’s a matter of managing it until his time is up.
He added: “It’s now a case of waiting.
‘I’m not a man who readily accepts help, but the news about our medical expenses and the fact that we needed help started to spread.
“I’ll never fully understand this cancer thing, but I’m not going to give up.
“I’m going to live.”
