Mum’s shock as dream pregnancy caused a deadly tumour which left her fighting for her life
A MUM has told of her horror after discovering her pregnancy came with a deadly side effect – cancer.
After giving birth to her daughter Layla, now two, Ashley Shaw was diagnosed with an extremely rare tumour caused by the cells that attach the placenta to the womb.
The 26-year-old from Widnes, Cheshire, was forced to undergo a full hysterectomy to survive.
Ashley, a rugby stadium operations assistant, said: “In the months after Layla arrived in October 2014, I had this strange feeling that something just wasn’t right.
“My periods hadn’t returned to normal and I felt generally off.
“For months I begged my GP for tests, but it wasn’t until I had my routine smear in February this year that I was diagnosed with the tumour.
“When I discovered it was a direct result of being pregnant with Layla I couldn’t believe it. I’d never heard of this happening before.”
Ashley had difficult pregnancies with her two sons - Dylan, eight, and Declan, six – but carrying Layla had been problem free until 32 weeks.
At this point she called the maternity unit in a panic when she stopped feeling her baby move inside her.
When she arrived at Whiston Hospital in Prescot, Merseyside, she discovered her unborn baby had stopped growing as her placenta had failed.
Ashley said: “I was told that effectively my placenta had died.
“It was touch and go, and the hospital even sent a nun in to see if I wanted a blessing as Layla could have been stillborn.
“Then I was rushed for an emergency caesarean.
“Layla was delivered eight weeks early weighing just 4lb 15oz, and thankfully she went from strength to strength.
“After ten days in hospital, I could finally take my little girl home. At that point, I thought all the medical drama was over.”
However, while Layla thrived, Ashley was becoming increasingly worried about her own health.
She was having very heavy periods and sharp abdominal pain.
Ashley said: “The longer this went on, the more worked up I was getting.
“After the smear test I was sent to the hospital for further investigations as the results showed abnormal cells.
“Then, after a hysteroscopy, where the doctor removes part of the uterus for tissue tests, I was told I needed blood tests.
“That’s when I got the first inkling that something serious was going on. Not long later, I was told it was cancer.”
Doctors discovered a 5cm growth called a placental site trophoblastic tumour.
Fewer than five women are diagnosed with this condition in the UK each year.
Ashley explained: “Nothing could have prepared me for the news. I’d never even heard of this type of tumour, let alone thought that it would happen to me.
“At first I didn’t understand how being pregnant with Layla could have caused this.
“But, as I did more research things started to make sense.
“It was no wonder my placenta had failed if the tumour had already started growing.
“It was a miracle Layla was even alive.”
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The only treatment option for Ashley’s tumour was a full hysterectomy, before the cells spread to her other organs.
But, faced with leaving her three kids without a mother, Ashley didn’t hesitate to give consent for the surgery.
By the time she was diagnosed Ashley had split up with her children’s dad and had met new partner Ryan Bell, 22, in October last year.
She explained: “It was still early days in our relationship, and we hadn’t even talked about having babies.
“Suddenly, that choice was being taken from us.
“I knew I had to have the surgery to survive, but I felt awful for Ryan.
“He’d barely been with me five minutes when already he was dealing with this.
“I told him I’d understand if he walked away, as he didn’t have any children of his own and I knew he’d love to be a dad.
“But he promised me he wasn’t going anywhere.”
In March this year Ashley was admitted to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield for the four-hour operation.
But during the procedure the surgeon accidentally cut one of Ashley’s arteries, complicating her recovery.
She ended up having an artery removed from her right leg for a patch repair, and spent 10 days in hospital.
Ashley recalled: “The surgery was absolutely horrendous.
“I was told that after the surgeon cut my artery I was five minutes away from bleeding to death.
“Even after being discharged I was in and out of my local hospital for the next few months.
“But thanks to the support of lots of family and friends, I’ve recovered and I’m cancer free.
“In that sense I feel so lucky, because not everyone has that support.”
Ashley has to have regular blood and urine tests to monitor whether the cancer has returned.
However, she said that’s a small price to pay for surviving.
Ashley admitted: “The mental after effects of what I’ve been through have hit me really hard.
“I’ve been diagnosed with depression and been prescribed medication and counselling.
“I felt like a terrible mother as I couldn’t be there for my children while I was recovering, and having no womb left me feeling like less of a woman.
“Now I want to raise awareness for other mums, as this cancer is so rare.
“If I can inspire just one woman to keep nagging her doctor when she notices something isn’t right, it will be worth it.”
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What is a placental site trophoblastic tumour?
A placental site trophoblastic tumour is a type of gestational trophoblastic tumour, referred to as GTT for short.
GTT is the term doctors use to describe a group of conditions in which abnormal cells grow inside a woman’s womb.
the tumour develops from the tissue that forms in the womb when you are pregnant.
Placental site tumours develop from the cells that grow to form the placenta. The cells are called trophoblast cells.
Placental site trophoblastic tumours (PSTTs) happen after pregnancy.
They can happen after any type of pregnancy, including molar pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or a full term normal pregnancy.
They can occur several months, or even years, after the pregnancy.
These tumours develop in the area where the placenta joined the lining of the womb (uterus).
They can grow into the muscle layer of the womb.
They are slow growing tumours and are usually curable. They are extremely rare, accounting for less than 1 in 100 (1%) of all GTTs.
Fewer than 5 women are diagnosed in the UK with PSTT each year.
In some women PSTT can spread beyond the womb. It is most likely to spread to the lungs or to the body structures surrounding the womb.
The main symptom of PSTTs is irregular bleeding from the vagina, which in some women follows a loss of periods (amenorrhoea).
If the tumour is only in the womb the main treatment is surgery.
Most women will require removal of the womb (a hysterectomy).
If your doctor can remove the whole tumour in this way it should cure the condition, though patients may need a course of chemotherapy if the cancer has spread.
Information provided by Cancer Research UK.