A terminally ill mother reveals how she chose to delay crucial cancer treatment

while she was pregnant with her second child.

Indira Jayasuriya, 39, from Bromley, Kent, who had been given the all-clear
from breast cancer two years earlier, was given the devastating news that the
disease had returned and spread to her liver while she was just 28 weeks along
with her son Dilan.
But the mum defied doctors orders to have an early Caesarian so she could
begin fighting the tumours - and give her newborn 'the best chance in life'.
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Mother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 28 weeks pregnant
risks her own life by refusing to have an early C-section to give her
unborn baby 'the best chance'

Indira Jayasuriya, from Kent, was diagnosed with breast

cancer in 2008
But 39-year-old got the all clear after treatment and had a
daughter in 2012
In 2014 she fell pregnant with a second child, but fell ill after
24 weeks
Now has palliative care and tells her children she loves them
every day

A terminally ill mother reveals how she chose to delay crucial cancer treatment
while she was pregnant with her second child.
Indira Jayasuriya, 39, from Bromley, Kent, who had been given the all-clear
from breast cancer two years earlier, was given the devastating news that the
disease had returned and spread to her liver while she was just 28 weeks along
with her son Dilan.
But the mum defied doctors orders to have an early Caesarian so she could
begin fighting the tumours - and give her newborn 'the best chance in life'.

Indira Jayasuriya first spotted a lump on her right breast in winter 2007 and later got the all clear
after treatment. But she found out the cancer returned after she had fallen pregnant with her
second child, son Dilan (pictured)

She had already had a daughter called Thilini with husband Martyn in 2012 after her eggs were
frozen ahead of her first set of treatment for breast cancer

The former sales executive said: I was adamant I wanted my baby to stay inside
me.
'I didnt like the thought of having him born very prematurely and I wanted to
give him the best possible chance at life. He had helped detect the cancer,
saving me. I just hoped I could save him too.

Indira had one session of chemo while pregnant to try and shrink the tumour but
it didnt work.
So in May 2015, at 33 weeks and six days pregnant, Indira agreed to have a
Caesarean section.
She gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Dilan, now eight months, who weighed
just 4lbs.
He was whisked to the special care baby unit, she said. But the midwives
brought him to see me regularly.'
Indira Jayasuriya and her husband Martyn, HR director for a children's
foundation, were 'overwhelmed' by their new arrival and so was their two-yearold daughter Thilini, who fell 'head over heels for her baby brother.

When she was diagnosed for the second time, doctors advised her to have a c-section as soon as
possible

Indira didn't want to put her unborn baby at risk and insisted that she had to wait until at least 33
weeks during her pregnancy with Dilan

The moment of joy came eight years after Indira first spotted a lump in her right
breast in the winter of 2007.
She initially tried to ignore the worrying symptoms.
I wanted to forget about the lump, but it was impossible, she said. It seemed
to be growing by the day. Back home, I went along for my scan, followed by a
mammogram and biopsy.
Days later, in 2008, she returned for her results with Martyn, an HR director for
a children's foundation, and was given the shocking news that she had breast
cancer.
At first I thought the doctor must have been wrong, Indira said. I was only 31
and led a healthy and active life. I was a vegan, ran several 10km races each
year and was a keen swimmer.
A surgeon told Indira she would need a single mastectomy before she started
chemotherapy. Then the couple were dealt another blow as she was told it was
unlikely she would be able to have children after the treatment.

Dilan was born healthy, nearly 10 weeks after Indira had discovered the cancer had spread
around her body

Dilan weighed just 4lbs when he was first born, and his safety was paramount to Indira who had
sacrificed her own chances of recovery

They had already been thinking about trying for children, so in April 2008, it
was suggested that Indira had her eggs removed and fertilised with Martyns
sperm.
That week I had 12 embryos frozen, she said. It was a huge relief to know I
might still be a mother.
Indira then underwent the surgery followed by an immediate reconstruction.
After her operations came chemotherapy.
She said: I suffered with every possible symptom there was. My hair fell out
and the nausea was horrendous. I was sure the treatment was killing me.
After five sessions, Indira had finished the course but she was left drained and
exhausted.

Afterwards it felt like Id been given a new lease of life. But physically, it had
ravaged my body and it took time to return to my normal, energetic self.
Indira and Martyn then made the decision to start their family and in October
2011, Indira fell pregnant on her second round of IVF.

Indria enjoying a holiday with Martyn and daughter Thilini just before her second diagnosis

Loving father Martyn holds baby Dilan close in a touching family snap

Inseparable: Daughter Thilini dotes on younger brother Dilan. Both children were born via IVF
treatments after Indira had to have her eggs frozen before having chemotherapy

After a smooth pregnancy, their daughter Thilini was born in July 2012.
Their good fortune seemed complete when, a year later, Indira was given the
all-clear.
Indira and Martyn decided to expand their family and in 2014 Indira underwent
IVF again and became pregnant on her second round with Dilan.
But at 24 weeks, she began experiencing severe stomach pain and vomiting.
In the four weeks that followed, Indira was in so much pain that she was taken
back to hospital seven times and lost over three stone.
She said: At 28 weeks pregnant, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 8st
7lb. I couldnt help but worry something was desperately wrong with our baby.
But during visits to hospital I was told it was muscular pain.'

But Indira says she can't bear to think about leaving her children behind when she succumbs to
the cancer

Indira said: 'They are what keep me fighting. I feel positive and am making the most of every
moment I spend with my family. Not a day goes by when I dont tell them I love them

Indira has told husband Martyn that she wants him to find love with someone who adores Thilini
and Dilan like she does after she dies

When Indira was pregnant with Dilan, she suffered with severed pain and vomiting - but was
told it was stage four cancer after various tests

Indira was given morphine and doctors ran some tests on the mum-to-be which
came back with the devastating results - that her cancer had returned.
I was told it was stage four cancer, had spread to my liver and was incurable,
Indira said.
The little boy inside me was my very last embryo. I was terrified of losing him.
The doctor wanted me to consider having a C-section as soon as possible, but I
felt it was far too early. In that moment, I cared less about my own health than
my babys.

Dilan was born after she used her very last egg in a final round of IVF before she was given the
devastating diagnosis

Indiras consultant explained the type of cancer she had was oestrogen positive. Being pregnant
meant that the oestrogen in her blood was causing the cancer to get more and more aggressive
with each day

When Dilan was born, sister Thilini was 'head over heels for her baby brother

Indiras consultant explained the type of cancer she had was oestrogen positive.
Being pregnant meant that the oestrogen in her blood was causing the cancer to
get more and more aggressive with each day.
She underwent one round of chemotherapy before finally giving birth via
Caesarean section.
I couldnt help feeling guilty, she said. I should have been spending time with
Dilan and Thilini, not stuck in hospital.

Now Indira takes morphine to control the pain in her liver and is on Letrozole, a
hormonal treatment that reduces the amount of oestrogen in the body.

The same week after having Dilan, Indira had to start another course of gruelling
chemotherapy leaving her little time to be with her newborn son or daughter Thilini
(above)

Indira has told Martyn that she wants him to move on after her death. It was Martyn who
first insisted she went to the doctors to get the lump in her breast examined in 2007

'I feel positive and am making the most of every moment I spend with my family. Not a day
goes by when I dont tell them I love them, said Indira

She also has an injection in her stomach each month called Zoladex, which
prevents menstruation.
As she fights the disease, Indira is trying to help Martyn face the future without
her- but says she wouldn't have done anything differently.
She said: I cant bear to think about leaving my children behind.
'Ive told Martyn that when I go, I want him to find love again - with someone
who adores Thilini and Dilan. I have no regrets about having children.

'They are what keep me fighting. I feel positive and am making the most of
every moment I spend with my family. Not a day goes by when I dont tell them
I love them.'