Navigating an Diagnosis While Pregnant
- A Colorado mom, 30, was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer shortly before learning she was also pregnant. She consulted with her care team to determine the best course of treatment and its potential impacts on her unborn child. She underwent delayed surgery and chemotherapy.
- Stacia Bailey’s story underscores the importance of shared decision-making, second opinions, and compassionate care. A one-size-fits-all approach to cancer care is not always ideal, and tailored treatment to meet the needs of the patient is paramount. Bailey’s journey exemplifies that.
- Genetic testing revealed Bailey was a carrier of the BRCA gene mutation, which increases her cancer risk. Genetic testing is a simple blood or saliva test that allows doctors to learn about your cancer risk and details about your tumor at the molecular level. It plays a key role in tailoring maintenance treatments, helping doctors choose the most effective option for each patient
- Many different genetic changes, or mutations, are associated with ovarian cancer. Among the most common are the BRCA set of genes, BRCA 1 and 2. Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is a genetic factor that sometimes affects women with BRCA mutations.
- Stacia and her husband battled the cancer journey together, and she says she couldn’t have made it through without his endless support. After a cancer diagnosis, it’s essential for the couple going through the cancer journey together to communicate and express their feelings. Joining a support group or seeking professional therapy may also be helpful.
“It’s been such a strange journey,” Bailey shared on Instagram, reflecting on the whirlwind of emotions and decisions that followed.
Read MoreView this post on InstagramBailey and her husband, Alec, were suddenly navigating two life-changing realities—cancer and parenthood—at the same time. The diagnosis came swiftly, but thankfully, her primary care physician had acted with urgency and precision.
“By the grace of God and the intentionality of my PCP, it had been caught early,” Bailey said.
Still reeling from the news, Bailey was at the hospital preparing for a chemo port placement when she learned she was expecting. The timing was surreal.
“I was thinking, ‘Why me, why me?’” She told KMGH News.
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Initially, Bailey had hoped for a lumpectomy—a breast-conserving surgery that removes the tumor and surrounding tissue. But pregnancy complicated the treatment timeline. She and Alec were faced with what felt like an impossible decision: how to protect her health without compromising the life of their unborn child growing inside her.
“Are we going to have to make a choice about the baby to protect me? Are we going to have to make a choice about me?” Bailey recalled.
Together with her medical team, Bailey explored every option. Cancer treatment during pregnancy is complex and deeply personal. There’s no universal roadmap—only careful, collaborative planning tailored to each patient’s needs. Bailey’s care team helped her weigh the risks and possibilities, ultimately crafting a plan that allowed her to move forward with surgery and chemotherapy while continuing her pregnancy.
“I’ve had surgery to have the tumor removed, and in four weeks I’ll have finished five months of chemo,” she said. “And we’ll welcome a beautiful, healthy baby girl into the world just a couple of weeks after.”
Bailey’s story is a powerful reminder of the resilience required to face cancer, especially while pregnant. It also underscores the importance of shared decision-making, second opinions, and compassionate care.
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“I would have never anticipated that journey, but the Lord showed up in the entire thing,” Bailey said. “I mean, who knew you could do chemo while pregnant?!”
Throughout the grueling 18-month ordeal, Bailey leaned on her faith and a steadfast support system. At the heart of it all was Alec, whose unwavering presence carried her through the darkest moments.
“Every appointment, every breakdown, cutting off my hair, taking care of Rave when I couldn’t get out of bed—he showed up with a level of strength and resilience that inspired me,” Bailey said.
Supporting a Partner Battling Cancer
Couples who face cancer together often discover new layers of resilience, tenderness, and strength.
Building emotional stability begins with intentional choices:
- Speaking with a therapist to unpack feelings
- Creating space for open, honest dialogue with your partner
- Learning about the diagnosis and treatment side by side
- Joining support communities to share and hear lived experiences
Stacia’s BRCA Discovery: A Personal Journey into Genetic Risk and Resilience
During her breast cancer journey, Stacia Bailey uncovered another life-altering truth: she carries a BRCA gene mutation. This revelation added new layers of complexity to her treatment—and to her future.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that normally help regulate cell growth and repair damaged DNA. But when mutated, they lose that protective function, allowing cells to grow uncontrollably. This dramatically increases the risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers.
WATCH: The BRCA Mutation Explained
“There are certain cancer-causing genes that can be passed down from generation to generation,” explains Dr. Derrick Haslem, director of medical oncology at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.
Bailey’s diagnosis placed her within a growing group of patients whose cancers are linked to inherited mutations. As researchers learn more about BRCA and other genetic markers, they’re not only identifying who’s most at risk—they’re also transforming how cancer is detected, treated, and even prevented.
Another factor often seen in BRCA-positive patients is homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), which further impairs the cell’s ability to repair DNA. Dr. Rebecca Arend, Associate Scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, describes BRCA mutations as “a defect in your ability to repair a double-strand break in your DNA.” When this repair system fails, the risk of cancer rises sharply.
For context: while about 1.3% of women in the general population will develop ovarian cancer, that risk jumps to 44% for those with a harmful BRCA1 mutation and 17% for those with a harmful BRCA2 mutation.
These mutations can be inherited from either parent and are also linked to fallopian tube and peritoneal cancers—forms of ovarian cancer that are often harder to detect.
WATCH: What Genetic Testing Reveals About Your Cancer
What Genetic Testing Can Reveal—and Why It Matters
Today, several genetic tests can identify BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. For those who test positive, there are proactive options to manage risk:
- Enhanced screenings for earlier detection
- Prophylactic surgery to remove high-risk tissue, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes
- Chemoprevention, using medication to reduce cancer risk
Interestingly, having a BRCA mutation can actually improve treatment outcomes for some ovarian cancer patients—especially those treated with PARP inhibitors. Approved by the FDA in 2014, these drugs block the PARP protein from repairing cancerous DNA, selectively killing dangerous cells while sparing healthy ones.
For individuals with a strong family history of cancer, doctors may also recommend testing for other inherited syndromes like Lynch syndrome, which increases the risk of ovarian, colorectal, and breast cancers.
“If you were tested and you had that gene, then somebody might talk to you about prophylactic surgery,” says Dr. Haslem. “It can significantly reduce future cancer risk.”
A Message of Hope
Bailey’s daughter, Raven, is now a year old. Their family’s journey through cancer, pregnancy, and genetic discovery has reshaped their lives—and their purpose.
“If you know someone who is going through cancer treatment right now and just needs someone to talk to, please send them my way,” Bailey said. “It’s a bizarre and uncomfortable time, and if I can help ease the load in any way, I absolutely will.”
Helping Patients Cope with a Cancer Diagnosis
- Fear, Anger, Anxiety: You’re Entitled To Your Emotions
- High-Cost Parking at Hospitals Is Pain-Point for Cancer Patients Already Dealing With So Much
- ‘How Much Will It Cost?’: A Guide to Coping With the Cost of Cancer Treatment
- Anxiety Around Colon Cancer Diagnosis
- Coping with Anxiety after an Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis
Using Faith as a Tool for Healing
Cancer psychologist Dr. Andrew Kneier helped co-author “Coping with Cancer: Ten Steps toward Emotional Well-Being.” He also co-authored a column published by Stanford Medicine with Rabbi Jeffery M. Silberman, director of spiritual care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.
Together, they emphasize the deep emotional and psychological support that faith provides to those battling illness.
According to Kneier and Silberman, spirituality offers a powerful coping mechanism, helping individuals navigate the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
WATCH: SurvivorNetTV Presents: ‘SN & You Turning To Faith’
“A person’s faith or spirituality provides a means for coping with illness and reaching a deeper kind of inner healing,” they explain.
Faith helps patients in multiple ways, including:
- Seeking answers to the difficult questions illness presents.
- Finding comfort in the midst of fear and pain.
- Gaining a sense of direction during an overwhelming and uncertain time.
Religious teachings, they argue, can serve as a guidepost, offering strength and resilience when navigating the emotional and physical challenges of cancer.
WATCH: Three-time cancer survivor shares how her faith helped her during cancer.
New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans tells SurvivorNet about the importance of finding ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a challenging health diagnosis, such as cancer.
“It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,’” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet.
“You can reach out to God, and you can reach out to people, your friends and family, and say, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need you.’ “It’s in that willingness to be open and to receive that we can find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship,” Evans continued.
Supporting a Loved One Facing a Health Challenge
Research published in The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine studied the impact of disease on family members. It found, “Most chronic diseases have similar effects on family members, including psychological and emotional functioning, disruption of leisure activities, effect on interpersonal relationships, and financial resources.”
If you have a loved one fighting a disease or cancer, SurvivorNet has some ideas to help you better support your loved one. Simple tasks like helping with household chores or running errands can do wonders for your loved one who’s diagnosed.
These tasks can make all the difference in relieving stress when the effect of chemotherapy brings on fatigue, for example. Other ideas to help your loved one battling cancer include cooking, bringing prepared meals, or doing an activity you enjoy together.
The support helps put your loved one battling a disease or cancer more at ease, as they may be overwhelmed with anxiety after a diagnosis or during intense treatment.
“There are a number of common things cancer patients can experience,” Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
“Anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation, and PTSD,” Dr. Tworoger said, are all emotions cancer warriors may experience and can be eased by loved ones.
If you are a caregiver of your loved one facing a diagnosis, it is important to maintain your mental and physical health.
“Caregiving is the most important job in the universe because you are there through the highs and lows,” Julie Bulger, manager of patient and family-centered care at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
Caregivers must also watch out for “caregiver burnout,” where stress, anger, fatigue, and illness emerge from putting another person’s needs ahead of their own.
Caregivers who struggle to care for a cancer warrior should seek out a therapist or a support group, either online or in person.
How To Help A Partner Diagnosed With Cancer
After a cancer diagnosis, it’s natural for spouses to grapple with a whirlwind of emotions — anger, grief, anxiety, and beyond. The journey ahead can feel overwhelming, but it’s important to remember that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. There are strategies to navigate uncertainty, find support, and face challenges with resilience.
Some popular approaches, backed by research and many anecdotal accounts, include:
- Talking to a therapist to share feelings you’re going through
- Having candid conversations with your loved one about the diagnosis
- Researching the disease together to learn about available treatment options
- Joining a support group or connecting with others who have gone through, or are going through, the same experience
Your Role As A Caregiver
SurvivorNet has spoken with a collection of expert oncologists, social workers, and patient advocates to provide a helpful list of how cancer caregivers can help throughout the treatment journey and beyond.
Attend Doctor Visits
Throughout the treatment process, there will be many occasions when the patient receives a large amount of information at once. As a caregiver, attending as many doctor visits as possible can be a huge help. This allows you to take notes on treatment options, protocols, lifestyle changes that may be needed, and more.
Connect With a Social Worker or Patient Navigator
Ask for the patient’s medical team to connect you with a patient navigator or social worker. Many hospitals and cancer centers have specialized staff available to connect you with additional resources, which may include arranging transportation to and from doctor appointments, assisting with insurance claims, and more.
WATCH: How Patient Navigators Can Help
“Patient navigators can function differently at different hospitals,” Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, a surgical oncologist at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
“We have a really wonderful program at [NYU] where we use lay navigators, meaning they’re not nurses — although you can use nurses or social workers, that pretty much help newly diagnosed cancer patients through the continuum of care,” Dr. Joseph added.
Additional services patient navigators may provide include:
- Attending future appointments with you
- Providing an assessment for the next steps of care
- Assisting with housing, transportation, or immigration issues
- Helping with financial issues
- Providing direction on legal issues
Help the Patient Keep Track of Their Symptoms
As mind-boggling as a cancer diagnosis can be for a spouse or loved one, it’s likely more stressful for the patient.
Sometimes, it is easier for the caregiver to monitor the patient’s symptoms than for the patient. Try to maintain an open line of communication and encourage your loved one to share their feelings regularly to help monitor symptoms.
Let the Patient Speak for Themselves Whenever Possible
As a caregiver, your role is to be the best advocate possible for the patient. While assisting them with various tasks, it is essential to allow them to maintain a sense of independence whenever possible. Cancer caregivers can help keep track of symptoms, navigate finances, and even emotions — but they should also let the person they are caring for speak up about what they genuinely need throughout the process.
“Some of the best examples that I have seen in caregivers are those spouses or loved ones who really, almost sit back and they allow the patient, or they want the patient to express what the patient feels first, rather than barging in,” gynecologic oncologist Dr. Jayanthi Lea told SurvivorNet.
“…Step back a little bit and let the patient speak for themselves. Let them express what they are feeling. That is so important for the patient’s overall quality of life and well-being,” Dr. Lea added.
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