Mom Was Overjoyed After Welcoming Son. 9 Days Later, Doctors Found a Tumor in Her Placenta

• A young ma was diagnosed with a uncommon signifier of crab soon aft giving commencement to her lad successful 2024

• Now much than a twelvemonth later, Lydia Dutcher is cancer-free — and grateful that the choriocarcinoma didn't dispersed to her lad Theo

• "I honestly thought I was going to die," she says of learning she had aggregate tumors successful her lungs
  

Lydia Dutcher, a caller ma with a nine-day-old newborn, was making a cheesecake with her hubby Matthew successful their location successful Sun Prairie, Wisc., to observe Valentine’s Day erstwhile a telephone from her doc shocked her to her core.

“I thought that my doc was conscionable calling maine to archer maine that thing was incorrect with Theo,” Lydia, 29, tells PEOPLE. But the quality wasn’t astir her baby. Instead, Dr. Danielle Hartwig called to pass the caller ma that her attraction squad had recovered a tumor successful her placenta.

“I don't privation to scare you, but there's not overmuch literature. I've been researching it. I don't cognize truly what the adjacent steps are going to be,” Lydia remembers Hartwig saying during the call, which was connected talker truthful Matthew could besides hear.

The mates sat successful shocked soundlessness – and Googled the finding, contempt the doctor’s informing – until Theo woke up. Lydia says the daze took a agelong clip to deterioration off.

Lydia aboriginal learned that she had choriocarcinoma, a tumor that tin make from the aforesaid cells that guarantee embryos link to the uterus, allowing the placenta to form, according to UW Health Carbone Cancer Center wherever Lydia received her attraction and works arsenic a nurse.

The crab spreads rapidly and is rare, lone affecting astir 1 successful 100,000 pregnancies successful the United States, according to Dr. Lisa Barroilhet, a gynecologic oncologist who oversaw Lydia’s treatment.

Just 3 weeks aft Lydia gave commencement to Theo connected Feb. 5, 2024, she began 10 weeks of chemotherapy to dainty the aggregate tumors that were discovered successful her lungs.

Lydia, who has been cancer-free for much than a twelvemonth now, says she's grateful her lad Theo wasn't affected by her crab diagnosis and was calved perfectly healthy. (There was a tiny accidental that the crab had dispersed to Theo portion helium was successful the womb, but his tests came backmost negative.)

Never miss a communicative — motion up for PEOPLE's escaped regular newsletter to enactment up-to-date connected the champion of what PEOPLE has to offer, from personage quality to compelling quality involvement stories.

Lydia had a mean pregnancy, but erstwhile she went into labor, it lasted for astir 3 days, resulting successful an infection: chorioamnionitis. Her doc was capable to dainty the corruption with antibiotics, but sent the placenta for testing, which is erstwhile the tumor was found.

“I was conscionable truthful excited and hopeful and acceptable to beryllium a caller ma and bask my maternity leave,” says Lydia of the archetypal diagnosis. “I conscionable was not expecting that.”

When she learned that determination were multiple, tiny tumors successful her lungs, the world sunk in. "I conscionable retrieve my bosom dropping,” she says. “I honestly thought I was going to die.”

Still, successful a way, the corruption was fortuitous due to the fact that Lydia says the crab whitethorn not person been discovered until it went to her encephalon otherwise.

While the attraction was grueling, Lydia’s quality chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels began dropping beauteous rapidly — and it wasn't earlier agelong that she felt reassured that she was going to beryllium okay.

Still, Lydia had PICC lines successful some arms, which made it achy to clasp her lad and the attraction near her feeling drained. Fortunately, her hubby was determination to instrumentality attraction of their newborn and their parents besides stepped successful to assistance — and aft sharing her communicative connected societal media, much than 60 mothers donated bosom beverage truthful she could proceed to provender Theo bosom milk.

“I felt truly supported and looked retired for during the full time,” Lydia remembers.

Although the ma inactive has to get her hCG levels checked each month, her doctors don’t expect a recurrence and accidental she should beryllium capable to transportation different kid successful the future, though the gestation would person to beryllium monitored.

For now, her absorption is connected her steadfast 15-month-old son, who loves to play outside. “He’s perfect,” says his mom. When helium gets older, Lydia and Matthew volition program however they’ll archer Theo astir her crab diagnosis.

Says Lydia, “I'll person to fig retired a mode to marque him cognize however peculiar helium is and however fortunate I americium to beryllium his mom.”

Read the archetypal nonfiction connected People