New Delhi: A 39-year-old pregnant woman, Marina CH Ralte, who is a cervical cancer survivor from Mizoram, gave birth to a healthy baby girl at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi. Marina was battling against cervical cancer. The human papilloma virus is responsible for cancer of cervix. She came to know about her pregnancy when she was suffering from the dreaded disease.
Marina was 16 weeks pregnant and during the examination, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Doctors found a seven-centimetre-long tumour in her body. Initially, she was scared, but later she mustered the courage to overcome her illness. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl. After months of chemo and radiation therapies, Marina has now won the battle against cancer. The mother and the child are leading a healthy life.
A team of doctors comprising oncologists, gynaecologists, surgical oncologists, fetal medicine specialists and radiation oncologists started giving her chemotherapy in November 2021. Marina underwent chemotherapy in a total of seven cycles. Being a rare medical condition, doctors took utmost care to ensure the well-being of the mother and the unborn child.
Dr Mano Bhadoria, senior consultant, Department of Radiation Oncology of the hospital, said, "It was a challenging case for us because the woman patient came to us at 16 weeks of pregnancy with cervical cancer. The patient told us she needed the birth of her second child. It was a very risky and challenging treatment. While giving chemotherapy to the patient, we were constantly monitoring the status of the cancerous tumour as well as the condition of the foetus in the womb. Now, the cervical cancer is curable. But, women especially in villages don't come forward to speak about human pappiloma virus infection. Despite vaginal discharge, they don't speak about it in the open, but cervical cancer is treatable."
