Pregnant mum, 29, stunned as 'pneumonia' turns out to be stage three lung cancer
The young woman is determined to give her daughter a 'chance of survival'.
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for Hannah Williams, whose "life turned upside down" after finding out she has an aggressive form of cancer.
Having discovered she was pregnant in April, the joy of it all only lasted a few months for the 29-year-old before being diagnosed with stage three lung cancer at the end of June.
The eyelash technician who owns a small business first started "struggling to breathe". But doctors at the Liverpool Hospital emergency department beloved pneumonia was the likely problem, Liverpool News reported.
As her illness refused to abate, the UK woman sought the opinion of other doctors for about two weeks. They all agreed it was pneumonia — but then she landed back in the emergency room where she received a shocking diagnosis.
"Eventually I had a CT scan, which confirmed a mass on my left lung which had grown so much in three weeks they knew it was serious," the woman told the local publication.
"I have never smoked, barely drink, don't take drugs, train in the gym five to six times a week. Nothing makes sense to me right now. In the space of four weeks, my whole world has been turned upside down."
Mum-to-be starts chemotherapy
At the end of the July, Hannah started chemotherapy, having to quit her job for the time being and remain under specialist care in hospital.
Choosing to remain pregnant — with support from family and friends — the 29-year-old is determined to give her "her baby girl a chance of survival," her sister Natalie wrote in a GoFundMe campaign aimed at raising money for the expectant mum and her medical bills.
Despite the horror news, Ms Williams is keeping an upbeat outlook.
"I'm a positive person, and I believe everything does happen for a reason. I am strong enough, young enough and fit enough to fight this. With being pregnant, it makes everything escalate quicker," she told local media.
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Given that Hannah has no sick pay benefits and has to wait several months until she can receive some sort of government support, her and her family's lives have been "thrown into chaos".
"Anyone who knows Hannah will know she has always been independent and self sufficient," her sister wrote in the online fundraiser.
"She is extremely proud and has always done everything by herself to get to where she is today — she would never dream of asking for help.
"Unfortunately, with the current circumstances, we now just want her to focus on getting better and not finances."
More than $14,000 has been raised, exceeding the $13,500 goal.
Symptoms of lung cancer
In Australia, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, according to the Cancer Council.
The common symptoms include:
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Chest infection that keeps coming back or lasts more than three weeks
Loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss
Tiredness
Coughing or spitting up blood
Regular health check-ups are encouraged as well as seeing your GP if you notice any changes to your health.
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