Cancer during pregnancy: Mother shares inspiring story


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LEHI — At the Montgomery home in Lehi, you'll immediately notice three things: love, laughter and a woman with incredible strength.

At 34 years old, Kristen Montgomery is a breast cancer survivor. It was 10 months ago, at 17 weeks pregnant, she discovered a tumor during a self breast exam.

"I was laying in bed and had my husband feel the lump and I thought, 'This can't be, I'm pregnant,' " she said.

Kristen's mother died from breast cancer when Kristen was just 8 years old. And in July, on the anniversary of her death, Kristen learned two things during an ultrasound. First, she was having a boy. Second, she had an aggressive form of breast cancer — triple negative, ductal carcinoma.

"It was just this completely surreal moment where I was like, ‘Are you sure?' " she said.

Because baby Dru was far enough along, doctors urged Kristen to start chemo. So for the next few months, this mother of two who works full-time underwent 16 rounds of it. Each week an ultrasound showed Dru was growing.

"He had hair," Kristen said. "I'm losing my hair. I'm completely bald, and little baby has hair."


To know that I get a second chance to live with (my kids) and enjoy the silly moments in life, it's a miracle.

–Kristen Montgomery


In November doctors found the chemo was working. Kristen's tumor had shrunk, but Dru had stopped growing, also. Doctors told Kristen everything was OK, but at 36 weeks it was time for a c-section.

"I swear I had like 20 people in there because they were all just waiting to see what was going to come out. He was perfect. He didn't have to go to NICU and he weighed 5 pounds 1 ounce. He was just perfect, a perfect little baby," she recalled.

With a healthy baby, Kristen had a renewed spirit to beat her cancer. So two weeks after delivery, she started another 12 rounds of chemo. Then last week she had a double mastectomy.

"At that point I was like, 'Let's go, baby. Let's get this cancer.' I was ready to knock it out," she said.

And knock it out she did. This past weekend she got news that her cancer is gone.


Reflecting on her journey, Kristen believes her mother is watching over her, and her son was sent to save her.

"You can't help but wonder if you're going to be here and you look at your kids that are so little and just wonder what's going to happen," she said. "And to know that I get a second chance to live with them and enjoy the silly moments in life, it's a miracle. My husband and I are on cloud nine."

Kristen still has months of reconstructive surgeries ahead of her, but said the worst is over.

She's now encouraging every woman to routinely do self breast exams and trust their instincts.

"My mammogram came out negative. Had I just relied on a mammogram I would have no idea I had breast cancer," she said.

Reflecting on her journey, Kristen believes her mother is watching over her, and her son was sent to save her. Because of breast cancer, she said her family is stronger than ever and ready for their next chapter in life.

"I wanted them to see their mommy strong and I hope if they learn anything from this, it's that they can fight through anything. We can do it together with love," she said.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahFamilyYour Life - Your Health
Shara Park

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast