By Ben Barry
A first time mum with cancer says pregnancy masked her symptoms – after doctors discovered a tumour in her chest at 32 weeks.
Zoe Plastiras, 24, woke up struggling to breathe in September 2022 and called 111. She was told to go to A&E where she had a chest x-ray.
At 32 weeks, doctors discovered a 12cm tumour in Zoe’s chest, but were unable to discover whether it was cancerous or not until she gave birth.
Her daughter, Ophelia, one, was born at 37 weeks on October 4, 2022, and in December 2022, Zoe underwent a biopsy which revealed she had lymphoma – a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
Zoe had no cancer symptoms – which she believes was masked by pregnancy – but after Ophelia was born she lost a stone, started having night sweats and itchy skin.
Zoe has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy but both have not worked and she is in limbo while doctors decide next steps.
Zoe, a beautician, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said: “I was so happy when I found out I was pregnant with Ophelia.
“I felt so positive – that everything was going to be fine.
“Up until my diagnosis, everything was completely normal – I had a straightforward pregnancy.
“I woke up one morning and said I felt like I wasn’t breathing properly and then found out I had a tumour in my chest.”
In February 2022, Zoe and her partner Joe Bird, 28, a heating engineer, found out they were expecting their first child
Zoe said they were “so happy” about the news and felt able to relax.
The pregnancy was “normal” until Zoe woke up one morning struggling to breathe so went to the hospital.
Zoe said: “I was 32 weeks pregnant, I woke up struggling to breathe so my partner said we should go to hospital.
“They tested my heart, I had bloods and an MRI. They told me I had a tumour but said they were happy for my pregnancy to continue as normal.
“When they told me it was a tumour they used the word ‘mass’ but it didn’t correlate.
“I asked if they were testing me for cancer and I was so shocked as I had no symptoms.”
Zoe said she was told that she had a 1 per cent chance of being diagnosed with a lymphoma because she wasn’t presenting with any typical symptoms – including fatigue, night sweats and unexplained weight loss.
Her pregnancy carried on as normal and baby Ophelia was born via emergency c-section on October 4, 2022, at 6.54am, weighing 6lbs 3oz.
Zoe said: “I went into labour but I was not in pain.
“Three days later I was leaking and said they needed to do something about me.
“Because I had been leaking for so long doctors said it would be dangerous for me to give birth and we had an emergency c-section.”
On November 8, 2022, Zoe had two needle biopsies that were unsuccessful as they were unable to retrieve a sample.
A few weeks later, on December 19, Zoe went for another biopsy and three days later was told she had a lymphoma.
Zoe said: “Once Ophelia was out I lost weight very quickly, I thought it was weird.
“It is like my pregnancy masked the symptoms, once Ophelia was out it was like the cancer took over.
“I went from being 11 stone with my pregnancy weight to being 9lb 2oz – the weight fell off me.”
Zoe spent the Christmas in “limbo” after being told that a consultant would call her after the holidays to discuss treatment options.
She said: “I got the diagnosis and made sure I enjoyed myself, as a cancer patient you’re always thinking ‘what if this is my last Christmas?’.
“I had this awful wait, it was horrible, it was one of the worst times of my life – they called me on January 2.”
Zoe then had six rounds of chemotherapy which shrunk the tumour down from 12cm to 1cm.
She then went on to have radiotherapy and waited three months to see if the cancer had gone.
She said: “I thought I was going to be cancer free, I got the results after Ophelia’s first birthday which said it had grown to 2.5cm.
“I was devastated, I couldn’t believe it.
“In October 2023, they started testing me again and I got put on a trial where I had inpatient chemotherapy.
“I would stay in hospital for four days and had one in January, February and March.”
Zoe is now awaiting next steps as the tumour has still has not gone away.
She said: “Now I am either going to have stem cell transplant with my own cells or CAR T-cell therapy.
“I don’t know what the next steps are, I feel sad and angry.
“It has ruined the way I feel about my experience as a first time mum.”
