{"id":26999,"date":"2021-04-27T20:41:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T20:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=342438"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:57","slug":"expectant-mom-with-blocked-milk-duct-discovers-she-has-cancer-at-39-weeks-pregnant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/expectant-mom-with-blocked-milk-duct-discovers-she-has-cancer-at-39-weeks-pregnant\/","title":{"rendered":"Expectant Mom with \u201cBlocked Milk Duct\u201d Discovers She Has Cancer at 39 Weeks Pregnant"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Just eight days before she gave birth to her first child, 33-year-old Brega van Vugt<\/a> noticed something strange going on with her left breast. The young mother, who lives in Melbourne, was in the shower one day when she noticed a lump in her breast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brega believed the lump and discomfort was probably just a simple pregnancy symptom, but she did decide to go get it checked out, just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI just assumed it was my milk coming through, as I couldn\u2019t feel anything else,\u201d says Brega. \u201cI spoke to a midwife about it, and she said the same things, that it was probably just a milk duct<\/a> and encouraged me to massage it. But when that didn\u2019t do anything, I went to my GP.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Brega van Vugt<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After several tests, she was given the shocking news that she actually had a four-centimeter cancerous tumor in her breast<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went through a lot of testing including an ultrasound where they found an abnormality,\u201d says Brega. \u201cIt was the first sign something was wrong, and then I had a biopsy before being referred to an oncologist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brega\u2019s particular form of cancer is a hormone-receptor-positive<\/a> type, meaning that it is accelerated by estrogen, a hormone that is normally found in women\u2019s bodies but which is particularly plentiful during pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Brega van Vugt<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI felt winded. I was completely shocked,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t have a baby coming within a week the treatment would have been straightforward, but that complicated things a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brega\u2019s pregnancy made it difficult to prepare mentally for cancer treatment. On March 11, she and her partner, Angus, welcomed their new baby girl, Etta Hope. Three weeks later, Brega would begin her treatment. She wasn\u2019t even allowed to breastfeed her daughter because of the hormones involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was advised not to breastfeed because the type of cancer I have is driven by estrogen, and, if milk came in, it would have been bad news for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: GoFundMe\/Ride for Hope<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brega\u2019s current treatment is a \u201cless intensive<\/a>\u201d type of chemotherapy than she would ordinarily be going through. The easier treatments are helping her cope with life as a new mom and a cancer patient.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Once she completes 12 treatments, however, she\u2019ll begin a stronger treatment that\u2019s more likely to cause nausea and other unpleasant symptoms. She will then need either a mastectomy or a lumpectomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Scott Tierney, a friend of the family, heard about the distressing news, he decided to create a GoFundMe<\/a> page to help the family with their medical expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Brega van Vugt<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI had been speaking to Angus about the upcoming birth of his baby, which was really exciting, being his first-born, but then things went quiet,\u201d says Scott. \u201cI tried to contact him, and, after a while, he slowly let us know what was happening.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So far, the page has raised more than $25,000<\/a>. Scott also ran a 204-km race to raise money for the family.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are great people and good things come back to great people,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Facebook\/Brega van Vugt<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for Brega and Angus, they\u2019re very grateful for Scott\u2019s friendship and support during this time of struggle and hardship.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Early detection, Brega says, is the \u201cbest weapon\u201d against cancer. In between caring for her baby and going through treatments, she\u2019s doing her best to encourage others to be aware of their bodies and to get checked out if something doesn\u2019t seem right.<\/span><\/p>\n

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