Twelve years ago, when Caroline Swain’s son Max was still a baby, she noticed a lump on her breast and the worst was confirmed – she had breast cancer. This in itself was already a big change in her life. But then she found out that she was 5 weeks pregnant. It took a forward-looking medical team, a supportive family, and a lot of courage, but Caroline’s life was saved, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
In Fighting for two: cancer and pregnancy, Caroline tells her story, and shares an important message: a serious medical condition doesn’t necessarily prevent you from having a healthy baby. With the right information and the right care, more people like Caroline can get treatment and have healthy babies.
At the Pregnancy & Medicine Initiative, we would like other women, regardless of the diseases they are battling, and their partners, to be as fortunate as Caroline. We would like women facing chronic or serious conditions – from Rheumatoid Arthritis to heart disease, from depression to cancer – to have the right information that will allow them to make informed decisions before, during, and after pregnancy. We feel that pregnant women should have access to appropriate medical care and benefit from the progress of science.
Help us make sure that they get all the support they need. Take part in our ongoing campaign to move from dark to light.