Local mother battling breast cancer while pregnant helped by South Jersey doctor
Local mother battling breast cancer while pregnant helped by South Jersey doctor
Danielle Boudouris, 37, was diagnosed with triple negative aggressive breast cancer at 24 weeks with her expected fourth child. She soon hooked up with a team of doctors, including High Risk OBGYN Dr. Elyce Cardonick and oncologists at Cooper MD Anderson, who recommended cancer therapy during pregnancy.
WILLINGBORO, N.J. - A local mother is courageously battling breast cancer while pregnant with the help of groundbreaking care from by a South Jersey doctor.
Danielle Boudouris, 37, was diagnosed with triple negative aggressive breast cancer at 24 weeks with her expected fourth child.
"When the woman on the phone said ‘we found cancer’ I was instantly in tears," Danielle told FOX 29's Joann Pileggi.
She soon hooked up with a team of doctors, including High Risk OBGYN Dr. Elyce Cardonick and oncologists at Cooper MD Anderson, who recommended cancer therapy during pregnancy.
Danielle Boudouris, 37, was diagnosed with triple negative aggressive breast cancer at 24 weeks with her expected fourth child.
"We're not just sending Danielle off to get chemotherapy, we're watching the growth of the baby every month, and if at some point we saw the baby wasn't growing well we'd have to have discussion with the oncologists," Dr. Cardonick said.
Danielle has had four rounds of chemotherapy and will continue after he baby is born. She will also have a double mastectomy and hysterectomy.
"It’s rough, and it's wonderful all at the same time," Danielle said. "I know people who have had to terminate because of the same thing happened."
Studies have shown negligible amounts of chemotherapy drugs are passed to the fetus. Dr. Cardonick says a premature baby can be at higher risk than a fetus exposed to chemo.
Dr. Cardonick, a Northeast Philadelphia native and Jefferson med graduate, is a pioneer in the study of pregnancy and cancer.
"It’s not exposure versus no exposure, it’s exposure versus untreated illness," Dr. Cardonick said. "If mom is going to get worse without treatment, it’ll definitely affect the baby."
Dr. Cardonick, a Northeast Philadelphia native and Jefferson med graduate, is a pioneer in the study of pregnancy and cancer. Her goal is to continue to follow women who have had cancer and healthy babies and create a database so that other women facing a similar diagnosis know the success rates.
"As women are delaying their pregnancy to older ages we're seeing cancer in pregnancy more often," Dr. Cardonick said.
Dr. Cardonick has established a non-profit to create the long term database to study pregnant women and cancer success rates with chemo, as well as tracking the development and health of babies born to moms with cancer.