Special
delivery
First
came the surprise of the pregnancy test, and the surge of emotions
that followed: Another baby? Now? Are we ready? But a follow-up
visit to the doctor brought a surprise that made the earlier roller
coaster of emotions pale by comparison. Pregnancy, yes, but something
else, too: Cancer. Cervical cancer.
"I
had no idea I had cancer before they told me at my first prenatal
visit," says Renita Hampton of Sacramento. Hampton, 28, a mother
of four, couldn't believe her ears when she got a phone call from
the health clinic that she had just visited for prenatal care. A
Pap smear followed by a colposcopy revealed a small tumor in her
cervix. She was three months' pregnant.
A
similar whirlwind landed at the doorstep of Celia Lopez. First diagnosed
with cervical cancer, the Stockton resident was considering her
treatment options when, a few months later, she learned she was
pregnant.
"I
was on the pill. I was in shock," says Lopez, 45, who has four
sons, three of them adults. "I never expected to have another
baby at my age."
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Pregnant
women facing cervical cancer need expert care.
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