Finding out you're pregnant is exciting. You want to do everything to make sure your child is born healthy. But imagine being diagnosed with breast cancer while you're expecting.
It’s what happened to Charlene Park of Laurel. Charlene is a mother of three, Evy, Ian, and Elliott. But exactly one year ago, her life took an unexpected turn.
Doctors found a lump in her breast and it turned out to be cancer. At the time, Charlene was 5 months pregnant with Elliott. Charlene says, "The first things that go through your mind are how can this be happening, I have to be around for them."
The sudden diagnosis caught everyone off guard. There was no family history and Charlene was young and healthy. She remembers the day her doctor called. "She said I'm sorry it's cancer. And those words... It was just like a dream, a nightmare. I couldn't believe I was hearing those words."
They were words that would keep Charlene and her husband John up at night. Charlene says, "We'd wake up in the middle of the night and just sort of hold each other and just think what's going to happen." John says, "A big part of me was like I wish I could do it for her."
Doctors wanted to start chemo right away. John says it was tough watching his wife go through the treatment, all while she was pregnant. He says, "It's just the unknown. What is this thing that they're injecting into this person's body and what's it going to do ultimately and what kind of side effects is it going to have."
The obvious side effects were hair loss and fatigue. After the first round of chemo, Charlene went into pre-term labor. But doctors were able to stop it. She went through a couple more chemo treatments before delivering.
Charlene was induced 3 weeks early and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She says, "Right after having him, they put him on my chest, I was just crying and thanking God." John says, "You hear stories about people checking for fingers. You're just wondering if the physical appearance is ok. Is this baby healthy?"
Elliott was given a clean bill of health. After his birth, Charlene had several more rounds of chemo and then radiation. The treatments were successful and got rid of the cancer. Her hair eventually grew back, to everyone's surprise, it was curly not straight.
