'I was having tests during my pregnancy when they found something I wasn't expecting.'

Rachel Celnikier is a week away from delivering her baby. She's ecstatic to get to the next stage of motherhood and for her pregnancy journey to wrap up — especially considering what she's endured over the past nine months.

"When I look back on it, I was quite unwell in the first trimester of my pregnancy. I was very fit and doing a strength training program — but I was extremely fatigued and wasn't seeing any progress in my fitness levels," she tells Mamamia. "It felt like I was chasing my tail."

What Rachel didn't yet know was that she had a tennis ball-sized mass in her sternum.

"I put the lethargy and muscle pains down to pregnancy. I had also been pregnant before this current pregnancy, though I had miscarried. So I figured my body was just depleted."

At the 11-week mark, Rachel opted to get her non-invasive prenatal test, otherwise known as the NIPT test. It's a blood test that screens for chromosome changes or abnormalities in the developing foetus. Rarely does the test come back with a cancer diagnosis for the mother.

"I had the first blood test and the results came back as inconclusive. Then the second blood test came back and my obstetrician contacted me. After studying the results, he had looked at my own chromosomes along with my baby's, and in mine it suggested there might be a maternal malignancy," said Rachel.

Watch: Women who battle cancer while pregnant. Post continues below.

Rachel's obstetrician advocated for her to see a geneticist and get further testing done.

"By this point I knew that it was bad, whatever it was. We went to get the anatomy scan at 13 weeks, and fortunately they saw there was nothing wrong with the baby. But then they said, 'We think you have cancer.'"

At that point, all that doctors could tell Rachel was that her blood results showed there she had some form of cancer. They had no idea what kind of cancer it was, and it would take a week for the final results and diagnosis to come back.

"I thought I was going to die, given I didn't know how bad it was. It was probably the hardest week of my life. All I could think about was my family — my husband, my three-year-old son, and the pending arrival of our baby girl. It was terrifying."

At 14 weeks pregnant, Rachel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"It's bizarre, but honestly we were relieved because we knew I wasn't going to die. I know people don't like to say, 'You've got a good cancer', but considering what it could have been, I knew I had a cancer that had a higher survival rate," she told Mamamia.

By 19 weeks, Rachel was gearing up for treatment. She had the minimum amount of chemotherapy, which was two cycles — four rounds.

Rachel during her cancer treatment. Image: Supplied.

"Thankfully, technology and medicines have been developed to try to support women in keeping their pregnancies when something like this happens," said Rachel.

"I was given chemotherapy, and the haematologist was pretty confident that research has shown it shouldn't impact the baby long term. The PET scan with the radiation was probably the hardest decision to make, but the doctors in the room assured me. I also joined Facebook groups called Pregnant with Cancer to feel less alone."

After her final round of chemotherapy in late May, Rachel was told her cancer had seen a complete metabolic response, meaning all signs of cancer had disappeared in response to treatment. 

She will decide after the birth of her daughter this month whether to undergo radiation as a final form of treatment.

"For some reason, I'm so grateful that this happened in the pregnancy," says Rachel.

"Next week, when I deliver this baby, I feel like I'll be saying goodbye to what happened with the cancer and be able to enter this new chapter with my baby, cancer free. Thank goodness I don't have a newborn baby and I've just been diagnosed with cancer and I've got to do chemotherapy then."

During this challenging time, her husband and three-year-old son have been "amazing" she said, as have many of her loved ones.

Rachel with her husband and son. Image: Supplied.

For expecting mothers, the NIPT test costs around $450, depending on where you are in Australia. For Rachel, that $450 test saved her life — and means she will live well beyond her 37 years.

"Usually the test is geared towards mums who have an at-risk or complicated pregnancy, or mums who are a bit older. But I hope all women know that tests like this can save lives, and for doctors and obstetricians to be aware of how to interpret the results for abnormalities in the mother too," said Rachel.

Considering how painful and exhausting the chemotherapy was, Rachel is thankful that part of the journey is over. But she says that childbirth will be "far more rewarding even if it's tough".

"I'm so excited to meet my baby, to hold her and to start this next part of our lives. It's been an absolute whirlwind. Now I just want my family to be happy and healthy."

Feature Image: Supplied.

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