Newlywed left devastated after doctors reveal her baby bump ‘was actually CANCER’
Newlyweds Stephanie and Michael Theobald were heartbroken when their 12 week scan revealed a malignant growth, instead of a baby
It's meant to be the happiest time for any newlywed couple.
But when pregnant Stephanie Theobald and her husband Michael went for their 12-week scan, they were devastated after learning their growing baby was, in fact, a cancerous growth.
The 35-year-old, from Manchester, had developed a rare molar pregnancy - meaning abnormal cells had grown instead of a baby.
She was told her only options were to wait and give birth naturally or undergo surgery.
But the devastation didn't end there as the tests also revealed that she now had gestational trophoblastic neoplasia - a malignant tumour.
Stephanie began a course of chemotherapy in August and she will find out if she can try again for children in January.
But she will have to wait for a year after that to conceive - meaning the earliest the couple can try is January 2018 when Stephanie will be nearing 37.
"I'm one of six children - the only girl and the last one to have kids. My mum was so excited for me to get pregnant," she said.
"We didn't wait until the normal three month mark to tell everyone because we were so excited.
"So I had the trauma of telling everyone the news. No one had heard of it. They couldn't believe it."
Stephanie and Michael, 38, a commerical manager, got married in 2015 after five years together and had been excited to have children as soon as possible.
My husband is apprehensive because he feels it's his fault. He said, 'I don't want to get you pregnant again if I've done this to you.'
But speaking about the moment the couple found out about the rare pregnancy, Stephanie added: "It was just awful.
"When you go for a scan, it's meant to be a happy time. We both just came crashing down.
"They took us into a little room, which we knew was the room of bad news. They told us I could wait and have it naturally or have an operation to remove it.
What is a Molar Pregnancy?
According to NHS Direct. a molar pregnancy is where the placenta and foetus do not form properly, and a baby does not develop.
In a normal pregnancy, the placenta provides nourishment to the developing baby and removes waste products. The placenta is made up of millions of cells known as trophoblastic cells.
In a molar pregnancy, these cells behave abnormally as soon as the egg has been fertilised by the sperm. This results in a mass of abnormal cells that can grow as fluid-filled sacs (cysts) with the appearance of white grapes. These cells grow rapidly within the womb, instead of developing into a baby.
They are caused by an imbalance in genetic material (chromosomes) in the pregnancy. This usually occurs when an egg that contains no genetic information is fertilised by a sperm (a complete molar pregnancy), or when a normal egg is fertilised by two sperm (a partial molar pregnancy).
In complete molar pregnancy, the embryo does not develop at all. In a partial molar pregnancy, a foetus can develop but never results in a viable baby, due to the imbalance between the male and female chromosomes.
A molar pregnancy is not caused by anything that you or your partner does or does not do.
Treatment: Stephanie was given two options - to wait and deliver the growth naturally, or have it surgically removed
"You don't even know where or when it would happen and I couldn't deal with that. I just wanted it to be over so I picked the operation, which was good because if I hadn't, I might not have been examined and had the tumour detected."
About one to three in every 1,000 pregnancies turn out to be molar. But after a complete molar pregnancy, the risk of needing further treatment, including chemotherapy, is one in ten.
Discussing her hopes for the future, Stephanie said: "It's a massive worry - the fact that I have to wait so long. I really wanted a family for a long time.
"My husband is apprehensive because he feels it's his fault. He said, 'I don't want to get you pregnant again if I've done this to you.'
"I would love a family, but if I got pregnant again, I would be constantly worrying until I have the baby in front of me."