Mom undergoes chemo while pregnant with rare cancer

By Emma Dunn via SWNS

A mother underwent chemotherapy while pregnant and says her unborn baby saved her life after blood tests revealed her rare cancer.

Renata Rogers, 43, and her husband, Cory, 46, were excited when they found out they were expecting.

But when Renata struggled with nausea and sweating early in her first trimester, doctors decided to run blood tests.

After an abnormal result, she was diagnosed with Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia – a type of blood cancer.

Renata decided to keep her baby and doctors found a treatment plan to try and save them both as she needed to start chemotherapy straight away.

She underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy and gave birth via an emergency c-section at 32 weeks to her son, Michael, now two, after developing bacterial meningitis.

But Renata had to continue fighting cancer and had further chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and lymphocyte infusions.

Since July 2023 she has been in remission and is slowly gaining her strength again.

She says little Michael is “phenomenal” and doesn’t appear to have been impacted by the chemotherapy.

Renata, a research scientist, from Princeton, New Jersey, US, said: “They said ‘you have cancer’.

“And I said 'But I’m pregnant’.

“I was asked if I wanted to keep the pregnancy. It wasn’t a question.

“I felt my child and I were a package deal.

“My son saved my life. I don’t know if I’d have gone to the doctor to get blood work if not.”

Renata started to feel sick in February 2021 and after her period was late she was delighted when she found out she was pregnant later that month.

Renata and Cory had been about to start IVF a month later so they couldn’t believe their luck in conceiving naturally.

She said: “It explained why I was feeling a bit run down.

“Everyone said it’s because I’m pregnant.”

But when Renata’s sickness continued, and earlier than usual pregnancy symptoms, she was taken for blood work in April 2021.

She said: “Doctors called me and said one of my test results came back abnormal.

“My white blood count was 38. It’s supposed to be between four and 11.”

Renata was told to go to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, immediately and she was isolated in a ward.

She said: “My temperature was 100 degrees [Fahrenheit].

“I was so tired.”

After the blood tests were re-run, Renata was diagnosed with leukemia and asked if she wanted to terminate the pregnancy as she couldn’t wait until he was born for treatment.

She chose to keep the baby and had a treatment plan devised to try and save them both.

Renata started seven rounds of chemotherapy at 12 weeks pregnant in April 2021.

She also had brain surgery to insert a port into her scalp so doctors could access her spinal fluid.

Renata said: “I felt so unattractive.

“You couldn’t really see I was pregnant because I lost so much weight.”

There were no signs of the cancer after the chemotherapy but the chromosome mutation was still showing up – meaning the chances of the cancer coming back were higher.

Renata said: “I started having fevers and spinal headaches.”

Renata was rushed to hospital when her fever developed and she felt the baby move less.

They realized she had developed bacterial meningitis from an infection in her port and chose to take her for a c-section when the baby’s heart rate dropped.

Renata had to be under anesthetic for the operation and didn’t get to see the moment her baby was born, weighing 3lbs 8oz on September 19, 2021.

She said: “They got him out in a minute and a half.

“He was in the NICU for 37 days. He was a little fighter.

“I didn’t get to see him a lot because I was so weak.”

Renata struggled to get her strength back while being a new mom and was devastated when she relapsed in December 2021.

She switched to a different drug but was told she’d likely need a bone marrow transplant if the mutation didn’t disappear.

Renata said: “My whole life flashed. If I didn’t get the transplant I was going to die.

“I had my son. I just cried. I knew I had to fight again.”

Doctors made the decision to do a reduced intensity transplant as Renata was failing her pulmonary function test – to show how well the lungs were working.

She said: "I kept having low-grade fevers. I couldn't breathe."

She had a week of chemotherapy and radiation before undergoing the transplant in October 2022.

She had to spend three months away from Michael while she was recovering.

The pair were reunited in December 2022 but in February 2023 Renata relapsed again.

She received three donor lymphocyte infusions from her half-brother and has had the all-clear since July 2023.

Renata won't be declared cancer-free until 2027, after five years in remission, but she has been able to get back to walking and caring for her son.

She said: "It's made me a much stronger person.

"My son is the best thing that has happened to me. I'd go through it again for him.

"He's doing well. He wasn't affected by the chemotherapy.

"He has a little speech delay but he's phenomenal. He's a special little boy.

"His kicks kept me going through chemotherapy.

"I want people to know there is hope.

"Cancer isn't the end."