Mom finds out that the lump she thought was breast milk is actually CANCER –

An Ohio mother was shocked when she learned she was pregnant with her second child, when she learned that the breast lump she had attached to her breast milk was actually cancer.

Stephanie Rifici, 35, of Cleveland, Ohio, said: TODAY while breastfeeding her son Luca, the milk often calcifies on her breasts, causing hard lumps. However, they would soon find a solution and he did not think much about it.

However, one of these breast lumps lasted unusually long, which worried her and caused Rifici to see a gynecologist – where she learned she was pregnant again.

A week after she found out she was pregnant, Rifici received the news that she had stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer.

Stephanie Rifici (pictured), 35, of Cleveland, Ohio, found out she was pregnant with her second child, and within weeks she had breast cancer. Rifici was initially worried that cancer treatment could harm the unborn baby, but doctors at the Cleveland Clinic were able to come up with a safe treatment plan for pregnancy.

“I was very excited but also very nervous,” she said.

“A week after I found out I was pregnant… unfortunately I got a call saying I really did have breast cancer.”

The diagnosis and news of the pregnancy put Rifici and her husband Evan Thorkelson in a difficult position.

They feared that cancer treatment might harm the unborn baby, but none of their children would grow up with a mother if she died of cancer.

‘Some people say, ‘You have to watch out for Steph. [the couple’s first child]† She is the mother. You already have a child. You want to make sure Steph is there for your other child,” Thorkelson said TODAY.

“We were so happy we were pregnant and having another baby… (but) we don’t want anything to happen to Steph.”

They have been informed by doctors at the nearby Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s top medical facilities, that they can safely begin treatment in the second trimester of pregnancy, meaning Rifici will have to wait.

An expert from the Cleveland Clinic TODAY said the pregnancy-cancer mix is ​​relatively rare and more doctors with different experiences are needed to respond.

Rifici’s second child, Leo, was successfully born last April and is now one year old.

An oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. “Timing becomes very important in the care of women with breast cancer during pregnancy,” says Erin Roesch.

Doctors at the hospital explained that there are types of chemotherapy that are effective against the cancer he has, do not affect the placenta, and protect the unborn child from radiation.

Often in such cases, doctors first recommend chemotherapy followed by surgery to treat the cancerous tumor, even if they have chosen to rearrange for Rifici.

“The cancer council met and basically decided that, in my particular case, they would have my surgery first so they could remove the tumor from there with low risk to the fetus so early in my pregnancy,” the future mother said.

“Sometimes going into anesthesia and having surgery can even put you into preterm labor.”

Finally, a delivery date was set during the rest period between chemotherapy sessions, and Rifici’s son Leo was born on April 21, 2021.

She later completed her cancer treatment and celebrated Leo’s birthday earlier this year, and now that she’s feeling better, she plans to go back to work.