Joe Powell had tried for years to get pregnant, so it should have been a joyous occasion when she finally did. But just days after finding out she was expecting, she had to make a nightmarish choice. A 41-year-old office administrator, Powell had always hoped to build a family with her husband, Richard. Unfortunately, the pair hadn’t had any luck conceiving until they received the exciting news in 2010.
However, their happiness was short-lived. Just after finding out she was pregnant, Powell discovered a lump in one of her breasts. While not all masses in breast tissue are cancerous—some form during menopause, and others as harmless mobile lumps in younger women—Powell’s case was different. She likely felt a firm cyst beneath her skin, a common indication of breast cancer.
Doctors at Nottingham City Hospital confirmed the devastating diagnosis. This news not only impacted Powell’s health but also raised concerns for her unborn baby. In a 2012 interview with the Daily Mail, Powell said, “When I heard the word cancer, my first thought was, ‘I’m going to lose my baby.’”
The situation was dire. Being pregnant meant that immediate chemotherapy wasn’t an option. According to a 2012 study published in The Lancet Oncology Journal, most experts agree that chemotherapy during the first trimester should be avoided. During this period, the baby’s organs are rapidly developing, and exposure to chemotherapy could have severe consequences. Similarly, chemotherapy in the last two months of pregnancy is inadvisable due to its impact on white blood cell levels, increasing the risk of infection during delivery.
To complicate matters further, Powell’s doctors explained that her pregnancy hormones were feeding the cancer, causing it to spread faster. Faced with this reality, her medical team suggested an unthinkable decision: terminating the pregnancy to prioritize her health. For Powell, this recommendation was heart-wrenching. “It was like a living nightmare. We had been trying for a baby for years,” she told the Daily Mail.
Despite the medical advice, Powell decided to go a different route. “I knew we couldn’t give up on our baby. There was no way I was going to sacrifice him to save myself,” she said. This choice meant gambling with her own life, as she would have to delay her cancer treatment until her baby’s development had progressed far enough.
Powell’s doctors devised an alternative plan. They opted to remove her tumors through surgery but postponed chemotherapy until later in her pregnancy. Five months into her pregnancy, Powell began chemotherapy treatments. From then on, all she could do was wait and hope for the best.
As Christmas approached in 2010, Powell went into labor. She soon held her newborn son, Jake, in her arms. Remarkably, he was born without any health complications despite his mother’s chemotherapy treatments. For Powell and her husband, Jake was the ultimate Christmas gift. “We were convinced parenthood wasn’t going to happen for us, so Jake was so special,” she shared.
However, Powell’s journey was far from over. Shortly after delivering Jake, she began an intensive course of cancer treatment. This included a mastectomy to combat the disease. During her hospital stay, Powell’s husband took on the role of caring for their newborn son. Despite the challenges, the family’s sacrifices paid off. Doctors eventually gave Powell the all-clear, marking the end of a tumultuous chapter.
Reflecting on her experience, Powell said, “We’re just thrilled that we can finally be a happy, healthy family after all we’ve been through. I feel like I’ve won the lottery. I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
This miraculous story serves as an inspiring testament to the power of resilience and hope in the face of adversity.
