One of the most unusual and frightening cases of cancer we’ve heard in a long time has just come out of Las Vegas. A local newscaster named Michelle Velez is revealing how her pregnancy caused an extremely rare cancer. The odds of Velez developing the cancer that she did were roughly one in 15,000, but thanks to what she is now calling “just dumb luck,” she became that one. Velez, who works as an anchor for the Las Vegas local news station KSNV, recently shared a Facebook post explaining her absence from the program.
“Hello news 3 family and viewers… Last week I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that was caused by an abnormal pregnancy,” Velez wrote. “It’s extremely complicated so I’ll try my best to make it easy to understand.”
Velez, who is the mother of two healthy children from previous pregnancies, went on to explain the extremely rare cancer. It started as something called a “molar pregnancy,” which refers to a non-viable pregnancy in which no fetus ever forms, but yet the pregnancy continues anyway, as invasive tissue fills the uterus. Molar pregnancies themselves are extremely rare (one in 1,000 pregnancies become molar pregnancies, Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, a gynecologic surgeon and assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center told Today), but it’s much more rare for these pregnancies to turn into cancer.
“In some very rare cases that tissue can turn into cancer post and spread to other organs in the body,” Velez wrote in her Facebook post. “That is what happened to me.”
According to the American Cancer Society, molar pregnancies that turn into cancer are technically called “gestational trophoblastic disease,” or “GTD,” and they differ from cervical cancer or endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) in that they don’t develop from the cells that line the cervix or uterus. Instead, they develop from the cells that would, during a normal pregnancy, turn into a placenta.
What Are the Symptoms of a Molar Pregnancy?
As Velez explained in an Instagram post caption, the symptoms of her rare cancer can mimic that of a pregnancy itself.
“Since the placenta is still there, the body mimics a pregnancy and spikes the pregnancy hormone (HCG) to astronomical levels,’ she wrote. “Essentially it was as if I was pregnant with 5 babies at once. It made me extremely sick and caused excessive bleeding.”
According to Today, Velez’s pregnancy test came back positive, too, despite the pregnancy containing no fetus.
Is This Type of Cancer Treatable?
Yes, luckily Velez’ cancer is highly responsive to the treatment she’s receiving, which includes chemotherapy.
“The great news is this type of cancer is treatable and my doctors have every reason to believe I will be free and clear at the end of this,” Velez wrote. “I am SO thankful for that and that is what I’m choosing to focus on. The bad news is I have to go through aggressive chemo to kill it. Yes.. I will probably lose my hair and experience other side effects of chemo – but all that is temporary. I have already made it through my first two treatments this week. Total number of rounds all depends on how long it takes the tissue to disappear.”
Molar pregnancies themselves, it’s worth noting, are usually treatable through a surgery that removes the tissue in the uterus. But in cases like Velez’, where the tissue becomes cancer and invades parts of the body beyond the uterus, the surgery is no longer an option.
“I can’t really put into words what it is like to find out you have cancer,” Velez wrote after describing her very rare diagnosis. “Devastating.. shocking and terrifying for starters – but there’s so much more to this I never understood. I plan to be as open and transparent about this journey as I can – because it’s the only way I know how to be.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
One of the most unusual and frightening cases of cancer we’ve heard in a long time has just come out of Las Vegas. A local newscaster named Michelle Velez is revealing how her pregnancy caused an extremely rare cancer. The odds of Velez developing the cancer that she did were roughly one in 15,000, but thanks to what she is now calling “just dumb luck,” she became that one. Velez, who works as an anchor for the Las Vegas local news station KSNV, recently shared a Facebook post explaining her absence from the program.
“Hello news 3 family and viewers… Last week I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that was caused by an abnormal pregnancy,” Velez wrote. “It’s extremely complicated so I’ll try my best to make it easy to understand.”
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Velez, who is the mother of two healthy children from previous pregnancies, went on to explain the extremely rare cancer. It started as something called a “molar pregnancy,” which refers to a non-viable pregnancy in which no fetus ever forms, but yet the pregnancy continues anyway, as invasive tissue fills the uterus. Molar pregnancies themselves are extremely rare (one in 1,000 pregnancies become molar pregnancies,
Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, a gynecologic surgeon and assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center told
Today), but it’s much more rare for these pregnancies to turn into cancer.
“In some very rare cases that tissue can turn into cancer post and spread to other organs in the body,” Velez wrote in her Facebook post. “That is what happened to me.”
According to the American Cancer Society, molar pregnancies that turn into cancer are technically called “gestational trophoblastic disease,” or “GTD,” and they differ from cervical cancer or endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) in that they don’t develop from the cells that line the cervix or uterus. Instead, they develop from the cells that would, during a normal pregnancy, turn into a placenta.
What Are the Symptoms of a Molar Pregnancy?
As Velez explained in an Instagram post caption, the symptoms of her rare cancer can mimic that of a pregnancy itself.
“Since the placenta is still there, the body mimics a pregnancy and spikes the pregnancy hormone (HCG) to astronomical levels,’ she wrote. “Essentially it was as if I was pregnant with 5 babies at once. It made me extremely sick and caused excessive bleeding.”
According to Today, Velez’s pregnancy test came back positive, too, despite the pregnancy containing no fetus.
Is This Type of Cancer Treatable?
Yes, luckily Velez’ cancer is highly responsive to the treatment she’s receiving, which includes chemotherapy.
“The great news is this type of cancer is treatable and my doctors have every reason to believe I will be free and clear at the end of this,” Velez wrote. “I am SO thankful for that and that is what I’m choosing to focus on. The bad news is I have to go through aggressive chemo to kill it. Yes.. I will probably lose my hair and experience other side effects of chemo – but all that is temporary. I have already made it through my first two treatments this week. Total number of rounds all depends on how long it takes the tissue to disappear.”
Molar pregnancies themselves, it’s worth noting, are usually treatable through a surgery that removes the tissue in the uterus. But in cases like Velez’, where the tissue becomes cancer and invades parts of the body beyond the uterus, the surgery is no longer an option.
“I can’t really put into words what it is like to find out you have cancer,” Velez wrote after describing her very rare diagnosis. “Devastating.. shocking and terrifying for starters – but there’s so much more to this I never understood. I plan to be as open and transparent about this journey as I can – because it’s the only way I know how to be.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
