Woman Diagnosed With Breast Cancer During Pregnancy Gave Birth to ‘Miracle Baby’

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For a young woman, the joy of falling pregnant was overshadowed by being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Doctors advised she terminate the pregnancy, but the brave mom decided to keep her baby while going through a grueling round of cancer treatment.

She didn’t just complete chemotherapy successfully but also gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

According to a news release by Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), from October 2019, Jade Devis, from Rancho Cucamonga, California, was only a few weeks into her first pregnancy in March 2019 when she noticed a lump in her breast. While the radiologist initially tried to dismiss her fears as being a sign of pregnancy, Devis requested a biopsy.

After further investigation, the 36-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer, a very rare form of breast cancer. “[The pregnancy] was fun until the doctor just took out her chart and told me they discovered the breast cancer,” Devis recalled, according to KTLA.

After the diagnosis, doctors told the expectant mother that “[her] baby was too young to save and that it was life or death for [her].” However, terminating her pregnancy wasn’t something she was willing to consider. “I wanted to keep my baby because I would not allow a stranger to tell me my child’s fate,” she explained as per LLUH.

Devis felt determined to protect her child. “His heart was beating. I could feel him inside. He was fighting, so I had to fight, too,” she further added.

After going through a lumpectomy surgery, Devis sought specialized care and had to go through several rounds of chemotherapy. During her treatment, she did have moments when she thought “That I would never meet my child. That if the cancer didn’t kill me, the chemo would kill me,” she told KTLA.

Amazingly, despite all the odds being against her, the first-time mother gave birth to a perfectly healthy child, named Braley, in July 2019.

“My baby boy is my miracle child,” Devis explained, per LLUH. “It is surreal to remember that my pregnancy had an element of extraordinary fear. I am blessed when I look at my son, and I cannot ask for more than that.”

Incredibly, Devis responded well to her treatment. According to LLUH, in spite of her initial prognosis being bleak, doctors believe she was completely cancer-free by the end of her treatment in November 2019.

“Going through chemotherapy is tough for anyone, and we do our very best to support our patients in every way we can at Loma Linda University Cancer Center,” explained Dr. Gayathri Nagaraj, who was in charge of Devis’s treatment. “In Jade’s situation, we had to be doubly cautious and alert to ensure the safety of the patient and the baby. I am extremely glad to be working with an amazing team who all came together to make this possible.”

For many people, pregnancy and cancer are incredibly difficult as separate challenges. This young woman had to take on both at the same time, and her story is nothing short of uplifting.

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