Blackpool mum's joy as baby is born following cancer battle

A mum who battled cancer during her pregnancy is celebrating the arrival of a healthy baby girl.
Lindsay Uphill-Robson with daughter AriaLindsay Uphill-Robson with daughter Aria
Lindsay Uphill-Robson with daughter Aria

Blackpool school teacher Lindsay Uphill-Robson gave birth to daughter Aria just three days after the last of 10 chemotherapy sessions she had to endure while carrying her child.

At one stage she and her husband DJ, who live in Poulton, had a two-week wait as doctors considered whether they could safely continue with the pregnancy.

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Lindsay, 31, still has two more chemotherapy sessions to undertake, but has been told her tumour has now significantly reduced in size.

AriaAria
Aria

She said: “We have been positive all the way through my treatment and expecting Aria gave us something different to focus on.”

Lindsay, who teaches at Hawes Side Primary School, was 14 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, in February.

She said: “I went into the walk-in centre with a cough and was sent for an x-ray because they thought I had pneumonia. But then they found a mass on my chest.

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“We had a couple of weeks when we didn’t know if we would be able to go through with the pregnancy due to the treatment I would need.

AriaAria
Aria

“But my consultant liaised with Christie Hospital in Manchester and they said it would be okay to carry on with it. The two concerns were the baby would be born smaller than usual, or would be premature.

“But doctors reassured me she would most likely be fine.”

Doctors had to carry out blood transfusions, a lung drain, baby scans and a biopsy under general anaesthetic, which could have been a risk to the unborn baby, as they battled to make Lindsay well.

Aria was born four weeks early on July 29, weighing 5lb 4 oz. Lindsay said: “She was born just three days after I had my last scheduled chemotherapy before I was due to give birth.

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“I was meant to have a month off the treatment first, but she arrived four weeks early. She had jaundice and we had to stay in hospital for five days, but now she is doing fine and we are so happy to have her.”

DJ, who owns an abrasive glass cleaning company, said there had been ‘lots of tears, anxiety, sleepless nights and bedside vigils’.

He added: “From the moment we found out, our mindset was this was something we had to beat and our goal was to get Lindsay well and look forward to having a baby.

“Lindsay has been unbelievable, I have never met anyone as strong in my life.”

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Lindsay is due to have two more bouts of chemotherapy in September, but halfway through her treatment doctors told her the tumour had already shrunk by between 80 and 90 per cent.

Fund-raising

As thanks for the support they received, Lindsay and DJ have raised thousands of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

So far they have managed to raise almost £6,000 for the charity.

Among the events they have organised was a 72-hole golf challenge – with participants given 24 hours to get round the course four times – at Poulton Golf Club

To support their cause, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lindsaytobeatcancer