Meso survivor delivers ‘miracle baby’ in time for Christmas
29 Dec 2008 by Wendi Lewis under News, PeopleAbout this time last year, Melbourne, Australia, resident Anita Steiner was facing the prospect of terminal cancer. At 45 years old, she had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Her doctor estimated she would have between six and 12 months to live. But after undergoing surgery that removed part of her right lung and its lining, along with one rib, Anita was focused on surviving. That was in May 2007. One year later, in May 2008, she was stunned to learn that she and her partner Patrick Lemmens were expecting a baby. She delivered a healthy baby girl on December 4, 2008, just in time for Christmas.
It is believed that Anita was exposed to asbestos more than 30 years ago, when she watched her father dismantle a shed covered with asbestos.
Even before her cancer diagnosis, Anita had struggled to have a baby, undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) but receiving only about a 1 percent chance to conceive naturally. After the diagnosis of mesothelioma, she had to stop IVF and relinquished her dream of motherhood. After radical surgery and six months of chemotherapy, the notion that she might become pregnant never entered her mind, she writes in her blog, anitalive.com.
It seems Anita is destined to beat the odds in life.
Her oncologist, Ian Haines, who practices at Cabrini Hospital, says Anita is in remission, according to a story in the The Age. He says the news of her pregnancy was “a surprise, to say the least,” and that after all her cancer treatments for Anita “…to become pregnant naturally and then give birth to this perfect baby was an absolute miracle.”
As of Christmas Day, the couple had not yet named the baby.
Anita’s story was recently featured on the news in Australia. Watch it here:
What a joy and an inspiration! God bless you, Anita, and your family!
