NEED TO KNOW
A Washington mom was 38 and pregnant with her fourth child when headaches, nausea and balance problems led to the discovery of a massive brain tumor in 2020
After delivering her son early so she could begin lifesaving treatment, Jenney Bitner named the baby Marcus after her neurosurgeon
Despite fearing she wouldn’t live to watch her children grow up, Bitner was declared cancer-free in October 2020 and remains cancer-free nearly six years later
A pregnant woman with brain cancer beat the odds — and named her baby after the surgeon who helped save her life.
Jenney Bitner of Washington was 38 and pregnant with her fourth child when she began experiencing severe nausea, headaches and balance problems while on vacation with her family in 2020, according to CBS News.
A visit to the ER and an MRI revealed devastating news: Bitner had a massive brain tumor. Further tests revealed that the cancer had started as an undiagnosed melanoma that had then spread to her brain.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m too young for this to be happening,’ ” Bitner recalled.
A pregnant patient (stock image)
Credit: Getty
“I was thinking, ‘There’s no way I’m going to make it through this. I’m never going to see this baby survive to a year old.’ I was terrified,” she added.
Surgeons removed as much of the tumor as they safely could, and Bitner was told she would require immunotherapy so that her body could recognize and attack the remaining cancer cells.
However, she would first need to deliver her unborn child early via cesarean section, as immunotherapy would be harmful to the baby.
Bitner delivered a son on May 4, 2020. She named the child Marcus after her neurosurgeon.
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Marcus was just 3 pounds, 12 ounces at birth and spent time in the NICU, and he was cleared to go home within several weeks.
Shortly after giving birth, Bitner underwent a second brain surgery — in which her doctor was able to successfully remove the entire tumor — and began immunotherapy soon after.
Baby in NICU (stock image)
Credit: Getty
Still, she knew the odds were not in her favor given her specific prognosis.
“I had these … children, and my thought was, ‘I’m not going to see them grow up,’ ” Bitner recalled. “I started writing them letters, like, all these things that I was going to want to say to them, because I didn’t think I’d be there to say it to them.”
However, scans revealed that the treatment seemed to be working — and Bitner made what doctors called “remarkable” progress.
In October 2020, tests revealed that the mom of four had no signs of the disease. Almost six years later, she is still cancer-free.
“I feel like every day I’ve had since all this has happened has been a gift,” Bitner said while speaking to CBS News.
“I shouldn’t have had all this time, and so I take every day as something precious,” she added.
Read the original article on People