Pregnant woman rejects breast cancer treatment to save her unborn baby

A pregnant woman diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer accepted death so that her baby could live. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien from Duc Pho District in Quang Ngai Province turned down chemotherapy which would have meant giving up her unborn baby.

Hien and her husband got married Nguyen Tan Thanh 18 years ago. The young couple later left their hometown in search of treatment for their infertility in the central coastal city of Quy Nhon.

Hien and Thanh gave up after multiple unsuccessful in vitro fertilization attempts they could barely afford. Hien was admitted to hospital after she slipped while delivering noodles to diners where she worked. Doctors diagnosed her with stage-three breast cancer and announced her pregnancy during that same hospital admission.

Hien’s only hope of saving her life was to have her breasts removed and to give up her unborn baby and undergo chemotherapy. But she refused instead begged to save her baby, even if it meant death on her part.

Hien became paralyzed after the sixth month of her pregnancy and at 8 months, afraid that she might not make it as she was becoming weaker by the day, the sacrificing mother asked to have her baby delivered through C-section.

The child weighed a mere 1.8 kilograms was born in the utmost happiness of the mother. After she recovered from the hour-long operation, the first thing Hien did was fumble for her baby, saying in tears,

“I do want to live like everybody else, but I can’t lose my child, for I wouldn’t be able to live if I did. The only thing I regret is not being able to breastfeed my baby, as my breasts have already been removed. ” she said