Cancer of the cervix is the 12th most common female cancer: each year, around 3,000 women are affected by this disease. In 2018, Mélanie, then the mother of a little boy named Enzo, learned that she was a carrier of the papillomavirus. "They cut part of my cervix to remove the pre-cancerous lesions", she says.
After a first check which came back negative, she had a second check, after which she was told that she had cervical cancer. "I am also told that it is going to be very difficult for me to have a second child. But I didn’t imagine myself being a mom just once.".
"I decided that my life shouldn't end"
The dream of this single mom? Have a second child. "I didn't want to let myself be beaten by all of this, so I decided that my life shouldn't end.", she explains. She then decides to have a baby on her own, after having started her treatments. "I get treated in quotes, I put the cancer on hold, we do what is necessary to keep it at a low stage, knowing that during pregnancy, as a rule, this kind of cancer goes to sleep ".
Mélanie then left for Belgium to perform her first artificial insemination in August 2019. In October, she had a miscarriage, but in December, the good news fell: she learned that she was pregnant.
"I had a hard time believing my baby was here"
The young mother then faces a period of doubts. "It's hard to say that, but I had a hard time liking Robin when he was in my womb. I had lost twins, I was at risk of miscarriage multiplied by ten compared to an average woman because my cervix had been cut and there had been chemo. So I had a hard time believing he was there ", she recalls.
A particularly difficult situation to live with, especially as his choice has been strongly criticized by some. "There was a risk of death so there were people who found me very selfish, who told me that I was not going to have just one orphan, I was going to make two", she recalls.
"I am the happiest mother"
What helped Mélanie hold on? His motivation, but especially his son. "Enzo was my sunshine for eight months (…) He helped me love this unborn baby. Because he loved her", she explains.
Today, Mélanie describes herself as the happiest of moms. What message does she want to send to people affected by cancer or by the disease more generally? "Just because you're sick doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself of making your dreams come true".
Read also :
⋙ Cervical cancer: what is the new screening test for women over 30?
⋙ Cervical cancer: 2 out of 5 women do not get screened regularly
⋙ Cervical cancer: 5 misconceptions about the papillomavirus vaccine