A mother who was told to “prepare for the worst” when she was diagnosed with breast cancer days after discovering she was pregnant has urged all women to be vigilant about their health.
Dani Donne and her husband Mark, from Brisbane, were elated when their pregnancy test came back positive after months of trying and a devastating miscarriage.
However, the couple’s joy was short-lived as the next day they felt a small, hard lump on their chest while changing.
Just seven days later, Dani, 36, was told she had breast cancer and would need to undergo treatment as soon as possible. Options were limited since her baby was her number one priority.
Despite giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Parker, in April 2023, weeks after finishing her first chemotherapy session, the battle was far from over.
Dani Donne (right) battled breast cancer while pregnant and after giving birth to her first daughter, Parker (left), who is now 10 months old.
Dani and her husband Mark (left), from Brisbane, were elated when their pregnancy test came back positive after months of trying and a devastating miscarriage.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Dani said her pregnancy was a time of increased anxiety rather than the joyful anticipation that most experience.
‘Throughout my entire pregnancy I was always stressed about her, I didn’t care at all. “I didn’t care about my treatments, I didn’t care about any of that, I was just very worried about her,” he said.
Dani now warns all women to get a breast checkup regardless of their age and history of cancer.
“I was the first person in my family to have breast cancer, so it was a complete shock,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, or if it belongs to your family or not, because it’s not mine: check your breasts.”
Dani lost her first pregnancy at seven weeks in July 2020.
‘I was waiting for it to happen. My hCG levels were not increasing and the doctor told me to prepare for the worst,” she recalled.
The couple waited for Dani’s body to recover before trying to start a family again and became pregnant in September 2022.
“When I got the positive pregnancy test I was very excited, Mark was a little reserved about what had just happened, but I realized that deep down he was excited too. We only had the day of excitement when I found the lump “, said.
Seven days later, Dani, 36, was told she had breast cancer and would need to undergo treatment as soon as possible. Options were limited since her baby was her number one priority.
At the initial consultation with the GP, the doctor said that the lump, a hard, painless mass between 2 and 3 cm in size, was worrying.
A biopsy revealed HER2-positive breast cancer, which is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).
“I was alone when I found out, so I think I went into complete shock.” The truth is that I didn’t listen to anything the doctor told me,” Dani said.
“I called Mark after I found out and he was obviously asking me a lot of questions and I didn’t have answers for him because I hadn’t been paying attention.”
She was in the middle of her first trimester, so her treatment options had to be carefully planned so as not to harm the baby.
Dr. Catherine Shannon, senior medical oncologist at Mater Cancer Care Center, met Dani when she was seven weeks pregnant.
“Chemotherapy cannot be safely given during pregnancy until the second trimester, so we had surgery first as it is a safer method early in pregnancy,” she said.
Treatment options were limited for the 36-year-old woman as she and her doctors wanted to ensure the health and safety of her baby. She started chemotherapy in her second trimester.
Dr. Shannon explained that HER-2-targeted treatments are not used during pregnancy due to oligohydramnios, when there is not enough amniotic fluid around the baby.
Dani underwent surgery to remove the lump when she was nine weeks old before beginning two rounds of chemotherapy as soon as she reached her second trimester.
‘I’m one of the lucky ones. You never say that when you have cancer, but I didn’t actually suffer any illness from the chemotherapy. “I lost my hair and that was the only symptom,” he said.
“I didn’t get morning sickness with Bub, there was nothing, it was just normal.”
The mother had four rounds left when doctors decided to pause the treatment to give her a well-deserved rest before having Parker, which was lucky because he ended up being born four weeks early.
She was able to give birth to Parker naturally in April 2023 and both mother and baby recovered without problems.
However, she was immediately forced to undergo tests and treatments for breast cancer now that it posed no risk to Parker just two days after her birth.
Dani had four rounds left when doctors decided to pause treatment to give her a break before having Parker, which was lucky because he ended up being born four weeks early.
“I was so overwhelmed with everything and trying to get some kind of routine for myself and Bub and Mark, but at the same time I could understand why my oncologist was saying we needed to have all these tests done. We wanted to make sure that while I was pregnant cancer won’t travel anywhere else,” he said.
“It was hard to enjoy the first few weeks when you had all that going on, but at the same time, every second I spent with Parker, I was happy.”
Dani endured her final four rounds of chemotherapy, a second surgery to remove all margins and potentially affected lymph nodes, and then four weeks of daily radiation.
All his tests came back clear and he completed treatment in September of last year.
Dani is on hormone blockers and undergoes regular scans to make sure the cancer doesn’t return, but otherwise lives happily with Mark and Parker, who is now 10 months old.
“She’s getting into absolutely everything, she’s a very happy baby,” she said.
Dani said her experience serves as a reminder to women that they should check their breasts regularly, especially if they notice a lump.
The mother said that even though cancer made her pregnancy extremely stressful and robbed her of her precious first few weeks as a new mother, she considers herself lucky.
“I stayed positive the entire time. I told Mark before I started chemotherapy, ‘I’m not going to get sick.’ Everything will be fine,’ she said.
‘The Mater Mothers were incredibly amazing. If I was worried or worried about something, I was swatted for a quick ultrasound to check that the baby was okay. “Knowing she was okay made all the difference in the world.”