Cancer survivor who gave birth urges early referral

Nurse Rebecca Halstead helped Stacey Broadmeadow through cancer and IVF

A cancer survivor who gave birth after removal of her ovaries has encouraged people to get checked when they notice symptoms.

Stacey Broadmeadow consulted her GP after experiencing dull pains and spotting between her periods in 2017.

She was eventually diagnosed with a rare cancer, which led to her taking up IVF before an operation removed both her ovaries.

Following a miscarriage, she gave birth to baby Harry in November.

The 38-year-old, from Stockport in Greater Manchester, told BBC Breakfast: "I had always wanted to be a mummy ever since I was little."

Baby Harry has been described as an "incredible" outcome of the treatment

She said she "only got checked because of my desire to become a mum" after experiencing pains in her appendix in 2017.

Following blood tests and scans, she was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).

She then underwent surgery at The Christie hospital in Manchester, after which she started IVF so she could achieve her dream of becoming a mother.

Ms Broadmeadow said she had 17 eggs harvested before a second operation - which removed her fallopian tubes and ovaries - and chemotherapy.

"In the beginning I didn't have much hope," she said.

"I got 17 eggs harvested and, when I went through IVF, I soon realised that that actually is not that many.

"The hope kind of went away a little bit and then I had a miscarriage, and I was at rock bottom."

She took "one last chance" in early 2022, when she became pregnant.

Her son Harry was then born later that year.

Her nurse Rebecca Halstead, from The Christie, said they could prepare Ms Broadmeadow for the cancer surgery and IVF due to her rapid detection.

"It is early referral to a specialist, that's what I like to echo to everyone."

She said it allowed them to discuss the implications of the treatment, including the menopause.

"At the moment she was diagnosed, she took it absolutely head-on.

"She faced it so bravely and now we have Harry, which is just an incredible end to Stacey's journey."

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