Bride-to-be diagnosed with breast cancer 3 days before birthday

TOWSON, Md. - Cancer can be scary. And when you're diagnosed at a young age, the future can look uncertain.

Being a mom is something Dayna Bell thought she wouldn't get a chance at.

But 4 months ago, Dayna and her husband had a baby girl, Ellie. Dayna says, "She was born in February and she's perfect, healthy and beautiful, she's our miracle baby."

It was a miracle because not too long ago things were so uncertain. Three days before Dayna's 30th birthday, she got the worse news of her life. Dayna says, "I remember the surgeon came in and said oh you didn't bring anyone with you today and I thought ok, this can't be good news."

Dayna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a tumor in her right breast and had to undergo chemo right away. It wasn't too long before she started to lose her hair. Dayna says, "We were sitting in the car and I ran my fingers through my hair... And I was like oh my goodness... It's coming out... It was very scary."

Dr. Paul Celano at GBMC treated Dayna. He says, "She had a very aggressive form of breast cancer which is often the case in younger patients."

He says things would've been very different had she not found the lump during a self breast exam. Dr. Celano says, “If it had been ignored, eventually it would have spread."

As Dayna underwent chemo treatments, she was also planning her dream wedding at Disneyworld. Dayna says, "About two or three weeks before the wedding, I got sick, had a fever and was just having a really hard time."

But when the big day finally arrived, it was magical. Dayna says, “You could see the castle in the distance and it really was like a dream, perfect in every way…My husband saying our vows in sickness and in health, he really meant it because he had been there with me."

After the wedding, Dayna got a lumpectomy to remove the tumor. Then came radiation. The treatment was tough, but it eventually paid off.

Dayna and her husband had great news. "The day we found out we were pregnant was the best day ever." Dayna is now cancer free. Her life as a new mom couldn't be better.

On Sunday, Dayna and Dr. Celano will be joining hundreds of others at a celebration for cancer survivors at GBMC. It's from 1 to 4 PM at the Civiletti Conference Center.