A few times when the pain became \u201cunbearable,\u201d she went to the hospital. But they just reassured her that her baby looked totally healthy and her symptoms were normal during pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Medication didn\u2019t do much. \u201cNothing would help,\u201d she says. \u201cIt just felt like like a burning sensation with pain, and I just felt like something was stuck there.\u201d <\/p>\n
So she toughed it out until early April 2022, about two weeks after her son was born, when she felt a painful lump right under her ribcage on her left side. And he was still having reflux.<\/p>\n
She ended up seeing the doctor whose office she works in now, who ordered an ultrasound. What should have been a 15-minute appointment quickly turned into an hourslong ordeal as it became clear the doctors needed more imaging. <\/p>\n
![\"Levano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pregnant-mom-colon-cancer-acid-reflux-mh-05-10162026-3986bd.jpg\")
Levano with her husband and new baby.Courtesy Geraldine Levano<\/p>\n
The next day, her pain went from a 10 to a 20, Levano recalls. \u201cI couldn\u2019t even walk,\u201d she says, \u201cI couldn\u2019t even carry my baby, so I went to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before they even took her vitals, the doctor took a look at her ultrasound and said, \u201cYou have cancer. We just need to figure out where,\u201d Levano recalls.<\/p>\n
Testing Revealed Stage 3 Colorectal Cancer<\/p>\n
After a CT scan, Levano was told her cancer was in her colon<\/a>.<\/p>\n That imaging revealed a large mass, about 8 centimeters, that was nearly obstructing her colon, Dr. Amit Agarwal, professor and colorectal surgeon with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Hospital, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n He also saw that her tumor was putting pressure on her stomach, which explained Levano\u2019s acid reflux.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mass was actually pushing up on the stomach from behind it,\u201d explains Agarwal, who was Levano\u2019s surgeon. \u201cEverything that she would eat was not necessarily being digested, so the acid would come back up.\u201d<\/p>\n While acid reflux is a common and normal symptom during pregnancy, he says, it should not continue after pregnancy.<\/p>\n Looking back, Levano says she\u2019d also lost weight, which she\u2019d attributed to nausea, and had \u201calways suffered with constipation,\u201d which could have also been signs of the cancer. Agarwal notes that she was also anemic, another symptom that could have easily been attributed to her pregnancy or colon cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cBut after pregnancy, when you still continue to have those things, that\u2019s when the light bulb goes off,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Having previously worked for a gastroenterologist, Levano was able to get a colonoscopy the following week. But because the mass in her colon was so large, \u201che was too afraid to be able to go all the way in,\u201d she says. The tumor \u201cwas blocking pretty much my whole colon,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n So, she met with Agarwal to decide on her next steps. Because of the size of the mass and the near-total obstruction it was causing, Agarwal knew that Levano needed surgery before chemotherapy.<\/p>\n Surgery Followed by Months of Treatment<\/p>\n Her surgery was scheduled about two weeks later, and she woke up from it with a surprise: a colostomy bag, which collects waste from the colon. <\/p>\n Agarwal had told her there was a chance she might need one, she says, but he wouldn\u2019t be sure until he did the surgery. Of course, she had hoped it wouldn\u2019t be necessary, but that wasn\u2019t how things went.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime you get chemotherapy, you weaken the tissue,\u201d Agarwal explains. So, if he had reconnected her colon during that surgery, the chemotherapy she was going to receive afterward could have either broken down the connection or narrowed it, causing a bowel obstruction.<\/p>\n For safety purposes, Agarwal decided to give her the temporary colostomy bag and wait until after she went through chemotherapy to repair her colon.<\/p>\n It was an added challenge for Levano, who spent the next few months going through chemotherapy before having the bag removed in December that year. <\/p>\n Around that same time, her mom was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, adding another layer to an emotional time. Levano was trying to balance \u201ca newborn baby, a 3-year-old baby, and then my mom trying to be a mom to me, and me trying to be a mom to my own kids,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was very, very hard.\u201d <\/p>\n The chemo often left her feeling fatigued and nauseous, with neuropathic pain in her hands and legs that made it tough to even walk. During that time, she leaned on her family for help, including her husband and dad. And her sister \u201cwas pretty much a second mom to my kids for a while,\u201d Levano says.<\/p>\n After chemotherapy, she underwent immunotherapy. Compared to chemo, the immunotherapy side effects were \u201cminimal,\u201d Levano says. <\/p>\n And in August of 2023, she rang the bell to celebrate the end of her treatment.<\/p>\n A Surprise Lynch Syndrome Diagnosis<\/p>\n Today, Levano is celebrating more than three years in remission and doing \u201creally good,\u201d she says, adding that she just had a clean colonoscopy and endoscopy.<\/p>\n Mentally and emotionally, however, she is still grappling with her experience. \u201cIt does break my heart,\u201d Levano says, to see so many people out there with cancer, especially young people, who haven\u2019t had treatment as successful as hers. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never question God, and I\u2019m so grateful that I\u2019m still here,\u201d she says, \u201cbut then it hurts me for the people that are still going through it or that don\u2019t make it.\u201d The weight of wondering why her cancer was treated while others aren\u2019t so lucky takes a toll, she says.<\/p>\n![\"Levano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pregnant-mom-colon-cancer-acid-reflux-mh-02-10162026-09cdfd.jpg\")
Levano with her chemo port.Courtesy Geraldine Levano<\/p>\n![\"Levano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pregnant-mom-colon-cancer-acid-reflux-mh-04-10162026-15ab3a.jpg\")
Levano and her family.Courtesy Geraldine Levano<\/p>\n