'I was meant to have you': Pregnant Singaporean mum, 29, delays cancer treatment for sake of unborn baby

A mother's love knows no bounds.

A 29-year-old Singaporean mother's surprise third pregnancy gave way to shock and sadness after the woman was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer.

But despite advice from doctors to terminate her pregnancy so she can seek treatment immediately, she chose to delay treatment to give her baby a chance at life.

In a video that she posted on TikTok on Aug 28, a user by the name of Missquraishani shared how she first found out about her third pregnancy in January this year.

@missquraishani Fact check- i could be the first 29 yo pregnant woman with stomach cancer stage 4 in Singapore. #stomachcancer #stomachcancerawareness #stomachcancerawareness💜 #cancersucks #pregnancyjourney #pregnancytiktok ♬ Fight Song - Rachel Platten

She wrote that she was "not expecting to be pregnant" as she had been on birth control for the past two years.

"As we really wanted to stop at two, we even thought of not having you. But my heart and gut [feeling] were so strong that we decided to carry on," she continued.

On April 7, however, Missquraishani experienced severe stomach pains along with heavy bleeding and was sent to the A&E where she was told that there was a threat of miscarriage.

She shared that it was fortunate that she had an appointment with her gynaecologist that same day, where a mass on her right ovary was found.

The mass was "10cm big" and Missquraishani was sent for further scans as well as a magnetic resonance imaging scan. She detailed that she was 16 weeks pregnant then.

"Result came back no other tumour or mass except for my right ovary [sic]."

She was scheduled for a procedure, known as an oophorectomy, to have her ovary and mass removed. She shared how she was worried about the operation, which was "similar to a C-section", as she would experience pain from the wound during recovery.

Right after the surgery, however, Missquraishani received the bad news that there was a high chance that the mass could be cancerous.

She wrote in the video "was supposed to be sleepy" right after the surgery, "but I forced myself to know what is the result of the mass".

"Apparently they told me it could be cancerous, so yeah while in pain I was feeling sh****."

Missquraishani soon found out that the tumour was 15cm in size and that her "ovary was twisted". The tumour was sent for tests and it was confirmed that it was cancerous, but the worst news was to come.

"They found [a] signet ring cell which was from the stomach area," she wrote.

According to medical resources online, signet ring cell carcinomas commonly arise from the gastrointestinal tract and are most frequently associated with stomach cancer.

On May 5, Missquraishani underwent more scans to determine the source of cancer and she was subsequently given the diagnosis of stage 4 stomach cancer.

Doctors tried but failed to convince Missquraishani to terminate her pregnancy.

"The doctors tried to talk me into terminating you so they could start on the treatment ASAP," she shared, adding that they told her "the prognosis is not good" and she would have "months to one year" to live.

Missquraishani wrote: "I cried so hard I question so many why [sic], but eventually I told myself it's meant to happen, you were meant to happen, so why should I terminate you."

Missquraishani said she eventually told doctors who were waiting for her answer that she would not be terminating the pregnancy.

"No — I was meant to have you."

She added: "Because of you, I found out I have cancer. You were meant to survive, you will be my miracle."

Her heartbreaking story has similarly moved fellow TikTok users as well you reached out to her to offer her words of comfort and admiration for her bravery.

Another TikTok user also shared how she had gone through a similar experience, but chose to terminate her pregnancy to undergo chemotherapy for her lymphoma.

In the final frame of the video, Missquraishani noted that she's currently at 34 weeks gestation and "still surviving".

She also indicated that the unborn baby is a girl.

"I'm not on treatment yet as I'll wait till I give birth to you. I can't wait to meet you, my little heroine."

candicecai@asiaone.com