Whose health comes first: Unborn baby’s or mom’s? My scary ordeal

Hey guys, I've got a fab guest blogger today who could really use our help. Read her scary story and weigh in. Take it away, Sarah!

Hi everyone. I'm the blogger over at Vitamin G (come by and say hi sometime!), sitting in for Erin today. I couldn't think of a better place than this blog to share my recent news and ask you all for some advice (I really need it!). I'll dive right in: You know those moments when everything is fine, perfect really, and then BAM, bad news hits? That happened to me last week when my doctors found a tumor the size of a grapefruit in my left ovary. Important detail to add: I'm 26 weeks pregnant.

0924-sarah-jio-baby-sonogram_lc.jpg
0924-sarah-jio-baby-sonogram_lc.jpg

"I'm going to need to consult with an oncologist," my doctor told me. Oncologist. The word kept repeating in my mind, sending waves of panic through my body. No one wants to hear her doctor say that word, especially when pregnant. So you can probably imagine the tears of joy in my house when I got a call the next day with good news: the tumor turned out to be benign. (Take the two-minute cancer test)

But it was just the beginning of what's shaping up to be a health nightmare. Here's the deal: This tumor is growing aggressively, and if it gets beyond a certain size, my doc wants it out. Her reasoning: The bigger it gets, the more painful it is, and the greater the chance that it could burst (bad news for me).

Fair enough. But this type of surgery during pregnancy, she tells me, could have some serious risks to the baby (who happens to be a darling--I saw his face on the ultrasound the other day (photo above)...aww...and big, 2.5 pound boy!). In short, the operation I may need soon, could cause me to go into pre-term labor--a potentially big risk to the baby's health. (I should add that my doctor has reassured me that if I do have the surgery, they'll do everything they can to keep the little guy safe. And, friends tell me that hospital preemie care is better than ever these days.)

But, as you can imagine, I'm worried. I'll know more after another ultrasound next week, but the situation has me doing a lot of thinking about who comes first: mother or baby? In the past, I had a hard time understanding how women could let brain tumors grow or wait out cancer to deliver their full-term babies. Now that I'm in the hot seat, I have to admit that I'd do anything--even, gulp, risk my life--to make sure my son is healthy. (Find out what it's like to be pregnant with cancer.)

What are your thoughts on this super-touchy topic? If you were diagnosed with a serious health condition while pregnant, would you address it at the risk of your unborn baby or choose to take your chances? --Sarah

Related: Erin from Life with Cancer is ready for baby number two, but should she risk her life again?

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