A new mum has described the heartbreak of leaving her baby to undergo cancer treatment just eight hours after giving birth.
Mollie Jane, 23, found out she was pregnant in December 2022, and she and her partner Tom, 33, were both “over the moon”. At 12 weeks pregnant in March 2022, the pair jetted to Antalya, Turkey, for a holiday but Mollie started to feel intense pain in her jaw, LancsLive reports.
The pain she was feeling subsided before returning in June, when she decided to go to the dentist but says it was dismissed as an abscess. On July 1 – the day of Mollie’s baby shower – the pain became so excruciating she was rushed to A&E where she was given an x-ray but nothing showed up and she was sent home with antibiotics.
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Another week went by but the pain remained, so Mollie was referred to maxillofacial and given a mouth biopsy. On August 4, she got her results back, revealing she had stage two osteosarcoma – a rare form of bone cancer.
But doctors said she would have to give birth as operations or treatment would be too dangerous for the baby. Mollie was scheduled for a C-section but gave birth naturally to her little boy, Tommy, on August 7, 2023, at Barnsley Hospital – weighing 7lbs 10oz.
She had a precious few hours with Tommy before eight hours later, at 9am, being whisked off for further cancer scans – while partner Tom looked after the baby. Mollie, who used to run her own cleaning business before her diagnosis, said: “When I first got the pain in my jaw, at first I thought it was a wisdom tooth.
“It was painful but I just kind of got on with it. But when the pain continued to get worse I knew something was up.
“When I found out it was cancer it was heart-breaking, but at the same time, I just had to do it. My focus the whole time was just on making sure my baby was OK, everything else came second.
“It was so hard giving birth to Tommy but then having to say goodbye to him straight away. But I barely even had time to think, I just got my bags packed and went.”
After an initial screening, she then had three days at home with Tommy before having a consultation with her surgeon in Sheffield, with an operation set for September 5. Mollie was given a tracheotomy – a procedure to help air and oxygen reach the lungs by creating an opening in windpipe from outside the neck – which had to stay in for two weeks, meaning she couldn’t talk for the entire time.
Then, in the gruelling 12-hour operation, she had part of her jaw removed with surgeons temporarily severing her ear, so they could access the bone to remove a tumour which doctors said was the “size of a football”. She was in hospital for 18 days in total, with the first few days in intensive care at Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
The operation was a success, with most of the cancer was removed though a small part had to be left and treated with chemo and radiotherapy. On September 15, she was finally reunited with Tommy in hospital – who was brought in to visit – and was fully discharged on September 21.
She has since done two rounds of chemotherapy, and had been due to have her second round on November 29, but then caught sepsis – a serious infection where the immune system begins attacking the body. “It was just my luck,” she said.
Thankfully, the sepsis subsided quickly, and she had her second round of chemotherapy on November 30. Mollie said: “The prognosis is looking good even though the tumour was the size of a football.”
Mollie will then undergo one round of radiation – which doctors are hopeful should see her in full remission. Mollie said: “It’s been hard leaving my baby, but my family have been so supportive, my mum, Amanda, 54, has gone with me to my appointments, and Tom has been great looking after Tommy but it’s been very hard on him too.
“It’s been tough, but I’ve just had to get on with it, I can’t do anything about it, so I’ve just got to keep going. Tommy is doing great, it has been very hard on Tom, but he’s been occupied with the baby which has been a good distraction.
“Everyone has said they can’t believe how happy I have been throughout it. When I found out, my mum and dad were both crying and both passed out.
“I didn’t really breakdown, I just thought ‘now I’ve got to get on with it’ – it still hasn’t really sunk in, I’ve barely had time to think about it.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
