VO Sound on Tape
NATS FULL. “Good girl, Emmy” (:01)
CG: Framingham, MA THESE ARE MOMENTS THAT MOST MOTHERS DREAM OF.
NATS “Here we go” (:01)
BUT THE DREAM FOR REBECCA BYRNE AND HER HUSBAND LARRY WAS ALMOST SHATTERED. IT TOOK MONTHS OF FERTILITY TREATMENTS BEFORE REBECCA WAS ABLE TO GET PREGNANT.CG: Rebecca Byrne Cancer patient “It was my dream for a long time.” (:04)
AND THEN, 13 WEEKS INTO HER PREGNANCY, REBECCA WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER. HER DOCTOR RECOMMENDED TERMINATING THE PREGNANCY.CG: Rebecca Byrne Cancer patient “So I basically looked at her and said so it’s my boob or my baby, I need to decide and she said yes.” (:06)
THE COUPLE WENT FOR A SECOND OPINION WITH DOCTOR ANN PARTRIGDE AT DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE IN BOSTON. DOCTOR PARTRIDGE SPECIALIZES IN YOUNG WOMEN AND BREAST CANCER.
CG: Ann Partridge M.D. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute “There have been studies that have shown that if you wait until a woman is beyond the first trimester then chemotherapy can be given safely without clear harm to the fetus or the woman.” (:12)
STATISTICS SHOW ONE IN EVERY THREE THOUSAND WOMEN IS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER DURING PREGNANCY. WHILE IT’S RARE, DANA-FARBER HAS A TEAM OF EXPERTS THAT MONITOR THE MOTHER AND BABY CLOSELY.CG: Ann Partridge M.D. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute “We take a very individualized approach because the risk to the fetus varies based on when during the pregnancy a woman is diagnosed as well as what regimens we’re recommending.” (:13)
WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT, REBECCA HAD FOUR ROUNDS OF CHEMOTHERAPY OVER 12 WEEKS. AT 33 AND A HALF WEEKS, BABY EMELIA CAME INTO THE WORLD. CG: Rebecca Byrne Cancer patient “She had a full head of hair, more hair than I had at the time. Just being able to see her and all her fingers and toes and that smile on her face, just knowing that she was perfect.” (:07)
AFTER THE BIRTH, REBECCA HAD MORE CHEMOTHERAPY, PLUS RADIATION AND SURGERY.
“I came home and I was like ok my breast is gone but I’m still a mom.” (:05)
AND WITH MORE CANCER TREATMENTS TO COME,BEING A MOM CONTINUES TO BE HER INSPIRATION.CG: Rebecca Byrne Cancer patient “It was a rough year, rough couple of years but…but in the end, you know I have Emelia and she is perfectly healthy and beautiful and just everything that my husband and I wanted.” (:06) AT DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE IN BOSTON, I’M ANNE DOERR REPORTING.
ANCHOR TAG Rebecca continues to receive chemotherapy every three weeks. She will finish her treatment in August – the same month that Emelia will celebrate her first birthday.
(Tape Time 2:12)For more information on this story:Dana-Farber NewsroomProducer: Robbin Ray(617) 632-4090dana-farber.org
EDITOR’S NOTE: This video is available online at: http://resources.dana-farber.org/pr/media/
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