Now We Know Singer Ed Sheeran’s Wife’s Tumor Was Cancer What Are Cancer Treatment Options During Pregnancy?

In Sheeran’s new Disney+ docuseries titled “Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All” which is set to premiere on Wednesday, May 3 the singer-songwriter and his wife opened up about her life-changing cancer diagnosis.

“I got diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year which was a massive s***ter,” Seaborn said, according to People. “It made me massively reflect on our mortality.”

Seaborn was six months into her pregnancy with her second daughter, Jupiter, when she discovered she had a tumor in February 2022. Jupiter was born three months later. Meanwhile, Lyra was born back in August 2020.

Referring to why she decided to speak publicly about her diagnosis, she said, “I would never agree to do anything like this but it made me think, ‘Oh if I died, what’s people’s perception of me? What do you leave behind?'”

She continued, “For Ed, the whole point is he wants to say to people, ‘I’m not just this music machine. I’m not just this robot that tries to get No. 1. I’m a father, I’m a son, I’m a friend.’ It wasn’t until this year when I was like, ‘I might die.'”

Recounting her husband’s reaction to her diagnosis, according to The Independent, Seaborn said, “We had the diagnosis of the tumor and the next day, Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours.

“Some people write a diary and get their emotions out through the pen and, for Eds, if something really intense happens, he'll go and write a song,” she added.

During the interview, included in the four-part series, Sheeran insisted that his life “got so much better” when Seaborn entered it.

Sheeran, who also described his wife’s cancer diagnosis as a “horrible” experience, previously admitted in a lengthy Instagram post, on March 1, that “writing songs is my therapy.”

Detailing why music helps him cope, Sheeran said, “It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week I replaced a decade's worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.”

It was then Sheeran first informed his fans about his wife’s tumor, saying, “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumor, with no route to treatment until after the birth.”

 

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Cancer During Pregnancy

According to the American Cancer Society, thousands of cancers arise during pregnancies each year in the United States. The following cancers most commonly found in pregnant people:

• breast cancer
• cervical cancer
• thyroid cancer
• colon cancer
• ovarian cancer
• melanoma
• lymphoma
• leukemia

Cancers can be more difficult to locate when you're pregnant because it can sometimes be hard to know if changes in your body are from the pregnancy or from cancer. The American Cancer Society lists the following scenarios as examples:

• Hormone level changes during pregnancy, which cause breasts to become larger, lumpy and/or tender.
• Rectal bleeding, that could possibly be due to benign hemorrhoids, a common occurrence during pregnancy, or from colon or rectal cancer.
• Feeling tired, which could be from pregnancy weight gain or from low red blood cell counts (anemia), something that could be seen in leukemias and lymphomas, or pregnancy.
• As the fetus and uterus grow throughout pregnancy, ovarian tumors get more difficult to detect.

Due to these challenges, cancers found during pregnancy are usually found at a later stage. It's important to speak out about any lumps, new pains, or other concerning changes in your body.

Anything that sparks worry should be quickly checked out by a medical professional.

Cancer Screening While Pregnant

If doctors are worried that a pregnant woman may have cancer, imaging tests, like mammograms or X-rays, may need to be done. However, imaging tests could potentially expose a developing fetus to radiation, mainly during the first trimester.

Also, a chemical is usually injected into a woman’s body prior to the test. Different risk levels for the fetus are associated with different tests.

In some cases, biopsies may be needed. If so, a needle biopsy is the most common type, as per the American Cancer Society. Needle biopsies are done under local anesthesia (numbing medicine). It’s also an outpatient procedure that usually has minimal risk for the fetus.

Meanwhile, surgical biopsies are done when a needle can't be used. It takes a bigger tissue piece through a cut (incision) and is done under general anesthesia (medicine that puts you to sleep).

This is why doctors may wait to do this procedure until the second or third trimester, as there is less risk for the fetus.

Cancer Treatment During Pregnancy

Everyone’s pregnancy and cancer experience is unique, so remember to speak with your doctor about your personality situation and how to move forward with treatment.

According to Macmillan Cancer Support, specialists will likely gather and talk over situation if you receive a cancer diagnosis while pregnancy.

A Guide to Coping With Cancer Treatment

Macmillan Cancer Support notes that some treatments may need to be delayed or given after your child is born.

Treatment options can depend on:

• How far along you are in your pregnancy (which affects the timing of treatment)
• What type of cancer and the stage it is at
• The speed at which the cancer is growing
• If the goal of treatment is to cure or control the cancer

With that being said, you should always discuss your options with your doctor and be fully aware of any risks and benefits of each.

How to Choose a Cancer-Care-Team

“Women can usually have effective treatment for cancer while pregnant. It is not normally necessary to end the pregnancy unless there is a very serious risk to your health,” Macmillan Cancer Support explains.

Types of cancer treatment during pregnancy may also include checking to see how the cancer is developing, chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy drugs.

It’s important to remember that treatment is all dependent on what your doctors advise.

Preserving Fertility After a Cancer Diagnosis

For many women diagnosed with cancer, the question of whether a pregnancy is still possible later  is usually one of the top things on their minds.

"When a woman is diagnosed with cancer in her childbearing years, fertility preservation should be a part of the conversation, like it's part of the treatment plan," Dr. Jaime Knopman, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist with years of experience treating couples and individuals experiencing infertility, previously told SurvivorNet.

“Everyone in their reproductive years should be advised of their options.”

Most women who preserve their fertility before cancer treatment do so by freezing their eggs or embryos.

Freezing Eggs Or Embryos: What Should I Do?

Dr. Knopman previously explained. "Women who go on to get pregnant after having a diagnosis of cancer do not seem to have a higher rate of recurrence than women who did not have a pregnancy.

"They sometimes call this the healthy mother effect, meaning if you were healthy enough to go on to get pregnant, then you may have not been in the same situation as someone who is not as healthy and couldn't go on to get pregnant," she added.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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