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This is the miracle baby who saved his mother’s life - by destroying a cancerous tumour that was growing in her womb.Doctors feared for Nicola Weller’s life when they discovered a tumour in her womb after she had complained about a swelling under her ribs.
She was referred for a hospital scan 12 weeks later prior to an operation to remove it, but when they carried out the scan, doctors made the most startling discovery.
Nicola Weller's life was saved by her son Brandon as the pregnancy hormones in her body when she was carrying him destroyed a cancerous tumour in her womb
Mrs Weller, 29, was unknowingly seven weeks pregnant - despite using the contraceptive coil - and the pregnancy hormones had causes the tumour to disintegrate.
Mrs Weller, a recruitment specialist, said: ‘It was absolutely unbelievable. I hadn’t planned to get pregnant and I’d had the contraceptive coil fitted.
‘So getting pregnant was a miracle in itself - but to find that my unborn baby had caused this tumour to disappear was a further miracle. All that was left on the scan was a few blobs of blood floating around. There was no other sign of it.
‘My baby ended up saving my life. Without him I may not have been here today.’
Mrs Weller first discovered the swelling under her rib in September 2009. She went to see her GP who referred her to Bridport Community Hospital in Dorset for a scan.
Doctors told her there was a tumour growing around her womb and she needed an operation to remove it.
Mrs Weller, 29, went to hospital to have the tumour removed but before the operation she had a scan which revealed that she was seven weeks pregnant and the tumour had disappeared
Mrs Weller, who has a daughter Alisha, eight, said: ‘I was absolutely devastated. My world just fell apart. My daughter was four years old, and I was being told that I was facing cancer. It was terrifying to think that I may leave her without a mum.’
In January 2010 she went to Dorset County Hospital to have the tumour removed, but before she was taken down for her operation, she had another scan.
And it was then that the doctors made a remarkable discovery.
She said: ‘I waited as the nurse tried to locate the tumour on the scanner, and then she suddenly went out the room. She came back in a few minutes later with another three radiologists.’
The medical team then broke the news to her that the tumour had disappeared.
She said: ‘I couldn’t take it in. I’d come into hospital for an operation to remove the tumour, yet now I was being told that it had gone.
Mrs Weller required no further treatment for the cancer and Brandon was born in September 2010 none the worse for his experience
‘The doctors couldn’t believe it either. Everyone was amazed. One radiologist said he’d never seen it before. The second one said he’d seen one case, after medication, and the other said he’d seen it once before, where pregnancy hormones had caused a tumour to disappear.’
They then broke the news to Mrs Weller that she was seven weeks pregnant. The pregnancy hormones had caused her tumour to disappear.
She said: ‘I was stunned to find out I was expecting a baby - but even more stunned to hear that this baby had caused my tumour to disappear. It was like he had been sent from above to save my life.’
The doctors carried out a biopsy on the small residue that was left from the tumour and found that it was in the early stages of cancer.
She added: ‘We’ve had family members who have battled with cancer and there hasn’t been a happy ending. To me, cancer has always meant chemotherapy treatment and losing people you love. It never occurred to me that a tumour could literally disappear overnight.’
Doctors at Dorset County Hospital said they had only once before seen a womb tumour be destroyed by pregnancy hormones. There is still no sign of the tumour returning
Mrs Weller was monitored closely during her pregnancy and she was scanned regularly in case the tumour did come back.
Her pregnancy went smoothly and her baby son Brandon arrived in September 2010, weighing a healthy 7Ib 8oz.
Mrs Weller, who lives with husband Russell, 29, who runs a scaffolding company, in Bridport, Dorset, said: ‘It was a relief when he was born, and it was lovely to meet and hold my wonderful son who had saved me. He was delivered with his right arm pointing forwards so we nicknamed him Superman.
‘And he really is a Superman, after saving my life.’
So far there has been no sign of the tumour returning, and Mrs Weller is enjoying on being a mum.
She said: ‘I hadn’t planned another baby, but I’m so glad I did. The tumour was in the early stages of cancer, so it was life-threatening. I’ve never heard of a baby destroying a tumour before - but I’m very glad that Brandon did.
‘One day when he’s old enough to understand I’ll tell him how he saved his mummy’s life. Alisha understands what has happened and she’s very grateful to him too. She dotes on her little brother.’
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