Pregnancy and motherhood after breast cancer? Indeed!
Monah first contacted me for her maternity photos as well as newborn photos. She was having a virtual baby shower and wanted pictures before the event. Her soon-to-be fiancé (Jay shared he was proposing at the baby shower that day) came to the photo shoot. We had lots of fun photographing Monah, showing her strength, in addition to capturing some wonderful couples photos. The energy between them was palpable!
Baby Jaxon arrived about 4 weeks early and just a couple of weeks after the maternity photo session. She shared with me that she had battled breast cancer and had completed chemotherapy less than 2 years ago. She stated: “It is great watching things finally fall into place, after watching them fall apart for so long.” I asked her to share her story and what it means to be a mom after surviving cancer.
“I remember the day that I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer like it was yesterday! I thought my life was over! 36 years old with no kids and single. I found a lump in my left breast through self examination and didn’t know what I was actually feeling but just knew it wasn’t normal. I made an immediate doctors appointment and was sent to get a biopsy. From there I had to wait for the results which came back 2 days later. The waiting process was stressful but I finally received the results and was told that I had stage 2 breast cancer! I went through all of the natural emotions such as anger, confusion, frustration etc.”I just knew that this was something that I was going to beat. I knew I needed to take each step at a time and have a positive attitude. I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself.”
My treatments for breast cancer included 6 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
I was really lucky, I had great family support and great friend support. I felt really lucky and blessed to be taken well care of.
I met my fiancé when I was diagnosed but didn’t really pursue things with him until chemotherapy was over.
“ My new normal” Life slowly began to change again. My hair came back in, and I started feeling more comfortable in my body again. Things started to feel normal again.
During chemotherapy my doctor chose a treatment plan that would hopefully preserve my fertility, giving me shots for my ovaries and close monitoring the cancer status. While there were no guarantees, I had heard of others who were able to conceive after breast cancer treatment. So I knew it was a possibility. One year later, I found out that I was pregnant and couldn’t believe how blessed I was to have gone through hell to get to heaven.
My pregnancy went pretty good, but I found out that I had a huge fibroid in the beginning which thankfully didn’t affect me too much. My family and friends put together a beautiful baby shower for me, and there my boyfriend proposed to me. God blessed me with a beautiful, healthy little boy. I’ve learned that our deepest scars tell the world of our greatest triumphs. With God, we are stronger than our struggles and more fierce than our fears. God provides comfort and strength to those who trust in Him. We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.
She also shared some words for baby Jaxon:
“My miracle baby: I believe that God sent you into my life, because unbeknownst to me, you were my reason for fighting for my life, to show me my purpose in this world, to bring me hope and to bring me joy, all the proof in God I need is in you, you are a gift from heaven. “
What an amazing story of strength, hope, resilience, and gratitude. You are a true inspiration, Monah! Congratulations on such a blessing!
Please contact me to document this special moments and have them last forever in these beautiful newborn photos. Book your photo session a few months before baby is born to assure availability. If baby is already here, contact me for some last minute availability!
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