Mum who underwent chemo during pregnancy after second breast cancer diagnosis says disease has made her ‘better person’

A mother who feared losing her unborn child after being diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time while pregnant said she does not “regret” the disease and has since welcomed her “miracle” baby.

Charlotte Zealey, 48, a school teacher from Luton in Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months before her wedding in 2010 and again in 2018, a week after learning she was pregnant.

Charlotte and her husband Martin, 53, a technical air conditioning engineer, feared the cancer would scupper their hopes of becoming parents after being told their chances of conceiving naturally were slim due to fertility issues and already undergoing a round of IVF which failed.

Luckily Charlotte was able to have surgery and chemotherapy without her baby being affected, and the couple welcomed their “miracle” daughter, Anwen, in 2019.

Now, five years on, Charlotte has been given the all-clear for a second time and become a Someone Like Me volunteer with the UK charity Breast Cancer Now.

She has so far helped more than 35 breast cancer patients by providing counselling over the telephone, and is hoping to raise money for the Primark-funded service with the help of her friend Sharon who has launched a scantily-clad calendar.

The calendar features women who have been directly or indirectly affected by breast cancer, as well as Charlotte’s husband, who is featured as Mr December.

“It sounds weird, but I do not regret having cancer,” Charlotte told PA Real Life.

“I think it’s made me into a better person because it’s made me appreciate people and appreciate life.

“I was quite career-orientated until I had my first diagnosis and then I realised there is more to life than work.”

Charlotte noticed her right breast was “red and swollen” in April 2010.

She visited her local GP, thinking it was mastitis, a type of breast infection, as she could not feel any lumps.

The GP agreed with her diagnosis, but as a precaution referred Charlotte to the Breast Care Unit at Luton & Dunstable University Hospital.

“Thank god he did,” said Charlotte.

Scans revealed Charlotte, who was due to get married a few months later, in July, had breast cancer.

“I was half-way through chemotherapy when we got married,” she said.

“It wasn’t the wedding we had planned for, but it was still lovely.”

As part of her treatment, Charlotte opted to have a mastectomy, a surgical procedure to remove her breast.

Charlotte and her husband, Martin, also decided to freeze 11 embryos after being told their chances of conceiving naturally were slim.

Once Charlotte finished her treatment and was declared cancer free in 2015, she began her IVF journey, which unfortunately proved to be unsuccessful.

The couple also tried conceiving naturally to no avail, and after two-and-a-half years, during which time Charlotte suffered several miscarriages, they decided to adopt.

“It was devastating,” she said.

“In the end, we couldn’t cope with the strain it was putting on our lives so we stopped.”

But in July 2018, just as they were filling out the adoption papers, Charlotte suddenly fell pregnant.

“We couldn’t believe our luck. This was our miracle baby,” she added.

A week later, Charlotte went for her annual breast scan, also known as a mammogram.

While the cancer had not returned, the scan revealed she had a different type of breast cancer in her other breast, known as triple negative breast cancer.

“I fell to the floor,” said Charlotte.

“It just felt so unfair after everything we’d been through – from getting married in the middle of chemo, to the IVF treatment failing, and then conceiving our miracle baby naturally only to be told I had breast cancer again.”

Charlotte was told, due to the type of breast cancer, she could continue with her pregnancy during treatment.

At 12 weeks, she had surgery to remove the tumour and surrounding tissue, also known as a lumpectomy, before starting chemotherapy.

Defying the odds, Charlotte and Martin welcomed their daughter Anwen in February 2019, a month before she started radiotherapy.

“On the one hand, we were so grateful our miracle daughter had arrived safely but on the other, I knew I had the fight of my life ahead of me,” she said.

Now five years later, Charlotte has once again been given the all clear, although she cautioned that you can never be 100% certain.

In light of her recovery, Charlotte decided to become a Someone Like Me volunteer with the UK charity Breast Cancer Now.

The job entails counselling people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer over the telephone and helping them overcome the mental and physical challenges they face.

“I absolutely love it,” said Charlotte, who has so far helped more than 35 women.

Charlotte said the experience has helped redefine her cancer as a positive.

“It’s almost like I’ve been through it for a reason,” she said.

“It’s made me realise what and who is important.”

To help raise funding for the service, Charlotte’s close friend Sharon has launched a semi-nude calendar featuring women affected by breast cancer.

While Charlotte is not featured in the calendar, her husband Martin is – as Mr December.

Sharon said: “Charlotte is my best friend, I’d do anything for her.

“Whenever anything bad happens in my life, she’s the first person I call and vice versa.”

Charlotte hopes her experience will help others battling the disease which proves deadly if left untreated.

“If you notice any change in your breasts, go and get it checked out,” she said.

“A hot, sore boob is not typically the symptoms you look for.

“I couldn’t feel a lump and neither could my GP, but when we scanned it, you could see it.”

Breast Cancer Now’s Someone Like Me service is fully funded by a donation of more than £300,000 from Primark, which has launched its “we’re with you” Breast Cancer Awareness campaign this month.

Now in its fourth year, the campaign spotlights the journeys of five women across five countries who have been affected by breast cancer.

To find out more, visit the website.