She Was Pregnant with Her Second Child When Doctors Gave Her 6 Months to Live – Then Everything Changed
A Georgia mother’s initial concern was how to convey to her kid that she probably had six months to live. It was among the most difficult things she had ever done. Meanwhile, her spouse wasn’t prepared to give up.
She became aware of something strange when she was well into her pregnancy. With a casual explanation and a prescription, her OB-GYN dismissed it. However, she couldn’t get rid of the uneasy sensation she had.
Only a few weeks later, she was exhausted, confused, and coping with a diagnosis that had a countdown. Her world slowly started to unravel during that precarious moment.
There was a burning lump at the beginning.
Lindsay Gritton of Cumming, Georgia, was about 33 weeks pregnant in early 2022 when she first became aware that something was off. Everything about her pregnancy had been going smoothly, with no problems or worries.
However, there was a burning sensation that persisted along with this tiny, marble-sized object in her breast. She attempted to ease it herself, assuming it was a clogged duct. “I attempted to squeeze it in an attempt to clear the clogged duct. I was unable to remove it,” she remembered. “The burning sensation was driving me crazy.”
Unable to find comfort, Lindsey went to her OB-GYN at 34 weeks. The doctor examined her, told her it was only mastitis, and gave her medicines. However, she was certain that there was more.
“I’ve previously had a plugged duct. I understand how they feel. At the time, she stated, “It’s definitely not that.” She pushed for an ultrasound, following her gut, a decision that would soon prove crucial. She went in for the scan a few days later.
A scan, a speedy delivery, and an unexpected finding
Lindsey knew something was amiss without a formal report. The technician swept the wand over the same spot over and over. Lindsey would later say, “I will never forget the look on her face.” “She had the blankest look on her face.”
Lindsey’s suspicion that the lump wasn’t mastitis or a plugged duct was validated by the ultrasound. In order to move forward with additional testing and therapy as soon as possible, doctors advised inducing labor promptly even though they had not yet established an official diagnosis.
Lindsey was induced at 37 weeks. A normal delivery swiftly devolved into yet another emergency. She started to bleed throughout childbirth, spilling so much blood that the towels underneath her were wet. She revealed, “They didn’t think I would make it,”
In the meantime, physicians were getting ready for an emergency C-section as her baby’s heart rate began to decline. Lindsey declined. She was worried that her recuperation might delay the treatment she now knew she would require. She made the proper choice. She gave birth to her daughter, Savannah, in May 2022 without the need for surgery.
Lindsey was still upright, and the baby was healthy. However, the most difficult portion had not yet begun. Lindsey had a PET scan about a week after giving baby. She was seated next to her husband, Spencer, in the car when she got the results, having just started to recover after the delivery.
Her breast was not the only place where the cancer had spread. Her liver was revealed to have over a dozen malignancies. When physicians informed her that she probably had six months to live, she was 29 years old and a new mother to a toddler and a one-week-old. It was heartbreaking news. Lindsey had recently given birth to a healthy baby and had no known risk factors.
Before her daughter’s umbilical cord had even healed, she was now facing a grave diagnosis. However, she was unable to succumb to dread even at that precise moment. Death was not her first thought. The goal was to stay. “I knew I had to do whatever it took to be here for my family,” she stated.
Chemotherapy, Fatigue, and an Unrelenting Schedule
Shortly after receiving the diagnosis, Lindsey began chemotherapy. As the treatment took its toll on her body, she spent three hours every three weeks at her oncologist’s office. With two small children at home, relaxation was crucial when the fatigue set in.
Spencer, her husband, quit his job to devote himself full-time to raising their girls. “He stayed up with Savannah every night for the first six months of her life so I could sleep during chemo,” said Lindsey. Their lives were dominated by the therapy program. No nursing was practiced. She started to lose her hair.
The emotional toll was greater than the physical one. “As a woman,” she recalled, “it was a lot for me.” “Having all that ripped from you.” Her thoughts shifted to her daughters as the truth of her diagnosis set in. Lindsey started to get ready for the unlikely scenario that she might not make it.
She sat down with her oldest child, Saylor, who was two at the time, and tried to explain what was going on and that she might have to go to heaven as one of her first actions. Savannah, her newborn, was sleeping on a playmat nearby. Lindsey started making videos to capture memories, and this was one of them.
“I’ll miss you,” Saylor said as Lindsey gathered her in an embrace. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” she stated. She started writing letters as well. She loaded her phone with love, support, and consolation messages she thought they might need someday.
“All I could think about was, ‘What can I do for them before I die?'” she said. The anxiety of abandoning them too soon devoured every day. Simple moments took on a new significance. During recreation, she clung to her girls. She looked at their faces.
More difficult than anything else she was dealing with was the thought of losing out on their lives. Additionally, Spencer remained grounded because she believed she would survive. She remarked, “He always thought I would beat it,” “I held onto that hope.”
Going Against the Prognosis
After finishing chemotherapy, Lindsey had immunotherapy as part of her treatment. To keep an eye on the condition, she now has several PET scans done annually. Her scans have revealed no signs of active sickness, but the cancer is still thought to be incurable.
According to her, “I can actually be present with them,” referring to her daughters. “I try to enjoy my time with them, make memories, do fun things, take them places, and raise them to be kind.” She used to worry that she wouldn’t live to witness these milestones, but now she is there.
She commemorated Savannah’s second birthday in 2024. Saylor was taught how to ride a bike without training wheels, and she watched. It feels exceptional today, all these everyday experiences. She occasionally allows herself to think positively.
She posted in February 2024, “Sometimes I just ring the bell and believe I’m cured because that’s all I know how to do.” “But then I’ll have to face reality and realize that my cancer is incurable. Of course, a tiny fraction do beat it permanently, and I will always think that I will be one of those lucky people.
Lindsey must maintain her optimism while acknowledging the truth of her illness. Her perseverance is all the more impressive when one considers the implications of that situation.
Metastatic Breast Cancer: What Is It?
Breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is known as metastatic breast cancer, Stage IV, or advanced breast cancer. The liver, lungs, bones, or brain are frequently impacted by this process, which is known as metastasis. Although there is no known cure, medication can help people live longer and have a higher quality of life.
Since new treatments for the illness have been accessible, more people have been living longer lives with it. Depending on where it spreads, the symptoms change. It might result in abrupt joint discomfort, fractures, numbness, or edema if it gets to the bones.
Symptoms include severe headaches, eye problems, seizures, nausea, or personality changes if it spreads to the brain. In the lungs, it could result in recurrent infections, chest pain, shortness of breath, or a persistent cough.
Jaundice, itchy skin, nausea, stomach pain, or loss of appetite are among symptoms that may appear when it travels to the liver, as Lindsey’s did. As was the case with Lindsey, metastatic breast cancer is occasionally only detected by imaging because symptoms are frequently mild or nonexistent in the early stages.
Depending on the circumstances of each instance, ongoing treatment usually consists of hormone therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted medications. Although there isn’t a cure, many patients are managing their illness for years after being diagnosed thanks to new treatments.
Lindsey’s story is a tribute to intuition, fortitude, and the silent choices made under dire circumstances. She is not by herself. A different but no less difficult battle confronted a young woman who had been diagnosed with a rare and severe form of breast cancer, endangering her ability to conceive.
She, however, shared Lindsey’s refusal to accept the restrictions imposed on her future. Discover how Shelly Battista became a mother of three while being given a terminal prognosis.
