Woman gives birth to giant tumour she thought was a baby
A West Australian mother who thought she was pregnant was shocked to discover she actually had a cancerous tumour growing inside her uterus.
Lauren Knowles said she was over the moon when her pregnancy test read positive, but it all came crashing down when she noticed heavy bleeding after seven weeks.
"I was at the park with my two-year-old son Charlie and I looked down and there was just blood everywhere," she told Yahoo7.
"I quickly called my husband to come and get us but it was a stressful situation with a two-year-old at the time who didn't want to leave the park."
The then 27-year-old was diagnosed with a molar pregnancy - where a baby does not develop and cells that normally form the placenta instead grow into a cluster of abnormal cells.
Ms Knowles said she was devastated.
"I was also really confused because I had never heard of it before and I was given a brochure to try and help me understand," she said.
"It was just really bizarre and strange. And I was worst case scenario."
Ms Knowles had surgery to remove most of the tumour and went through gruelling chemo but the tumour grew back, and fast.
She underwent more chemo in an attempt to shrink the tumour and not let it spread.
Months later, while she laid in a hospital bed, she got the urge to push.
While on the toilet, Ms Knowles delivered her tumour, the size of a large pear.
"I went through the stages of labour - it was painful, I had contractions, I may as well have had a baby I was that sore," she said.
"The nurses didn't know what to do because this was just so bizarre. It was the same size as a baby at 17 weeks.
"I was so relieved to see if out of me."
While the now 29-year-old was warned she may never fall pregnant again, she kept on hoping.
Just over 12 months after her ordeal came to an end, the couple fell pregnant with their second child, Indi, now 10 months old.
"It was not an enjoyable pregnancy," Ms Knowles said.
"I was worried the whole time - I would be really sick one day and think 'oh no, is it back?'.
"I wasn't calm until Indi was outside of me and in my hands."
"I was so happy. We finally had our baby."
Ms Knowles says having Indi is the light at the end of her tunnel and is hoping to inspire other women going through a similar situation to keep hoping, particularly on her Instagram and Facebook pages.
"There is a source of hope," she said.
"What seems impossible is still possible."
