Mom refuses cancer treatment to safely give birth to first child, dies 8 months after delivering son

The bond between a mother and her child is always special because it begins even before the little one arrives. Mothers often go to extreme heights to save their children, like an Italian mom, Azzurra Carnelos. Carnelos was 33 years old and five months pregnant when doctors told her the breast cancer she thought had been cured had returned, reported The Sun. A mother's cancer treatment during pregnancy can pose a threat to the unborn child, as per the American Cancer Society. 

First diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, Carnelos's early detection was prompted by a strange dream of her grandmother Nori, who also succumbed to the disease years before. In her dream, Nori asked her granddaughter to get checked for the disease. So, Carnelos took the remedial actions immediately. After the treatments, her cancer seemed to have subsided significantly and Carnelos believed it to be gone. Around three years later, Carnelos married her partner, Francesco Favero, and the couple was excited about their new beginnings.

A year into their marriage, Carnelos and Favero's dream of starting a family became a reality with her pregnancy in February 2023. However, their excitement did not last long, as the mom-to-be was diagnosed with breast cancer during the fifth month of her pregnancy. Ignoring her doctor's urgent advice to start chemotherapy immediately, Carnelos postponed her treatment until after her son's birth. She delayed the treatment and carried her little one to term. Carnelos' husband Favero, told La Repubblica, "She was only given drugs that did not harm the fetus, but then she had to stop those too." The doting mom gave birth to her son Antonio in August 2023 after doctors insisted on early delivery so she could begin her cancer treatment.

Following Antonio's birth, Carnelos commenced her delayed breast cancer treatment in the summer. Favero left his job and became a full-time caregiver for his wife, spending most of his time at the hospital. Despite Carnelos' endearing battle with the disease, she passed away on April 13 at her Oderzo home in Veneto, Italy. Favero, who is mourning his wife's loss, was nothing but proud of her "courage and conviction" even on her deathbed. "I still remember her smile when our baby started saying 'mommy.' She was happy like this, despite everything. With her sacrifice, she gave us life," he shared.

On a similar note, a teen mom diagnosed with cancer chose to carry her baby to term and delayed her treatments. As per the Daily Mail, Brianna Rawlings was just 17 weeks pregnant when the diagnosis of NK cell leukemia, a rare and life-threatening blood disease, came as a shock. The selfless teen decided to put her baby's life ahead of her own. However, her newborn Kyden left this Earth after 12 days. Calling it the "best 12 days of her life," the mourning new mother kept on fighting the deadly disease until she bid her last goodbye days after her 19th birthday.