‘Cancer during pregnancy: Woman has healthy baby’

In a rare case,a 30-year-old British woman has reportedly given birth to a healthy baby boy after undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment for mouth cancer during pregnancy.

Sarah Best was four months pregnant with her first child when doctors told her she had mouth cancer in January. Surgeons at Coventry’s University Hospital removed the tumour from her tongue,but found the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Best was told she needed to undergo radiotherapy which could risk the health of her unborn baby.

Two four-inch thick lead shields were built to encase her bump during her gruelling 20-minute long radiotherapy sessions every day. The shields were build to prevent harmful radiation from reaching the foetus.

Incredibly,minutes after finishing her last day of treatment on April 28,Best went into labour. Because of the operation on her tongue she was unable to receive gas and air pain relief but after three hours she gave birth to Jake,the Daily Express reported.