A mother from Northamptonshire who gave birth nine weeks early to start urgent cancer treatment has been told she is unlikely to live past Christmas. Amy Carroll, 35, was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer while pregnant and had an emergency caesarean section at almost 31 weeks.
Her son, Arlo Atlas Sirus, was born weighing 4lb 2oz and is now well and at home. Four months after giving birth, Amy has been told the cancer has spread further, and despite starting new medication, doctors have given her the news that she is unlikely to live past Christmas.
Cancer Spread Throughout Body
Amy, a support worker and mindset coach from Great Addington, said: "I've now got 16 masses on my brain, advanced stage 4 incurable metastatic breast cancer, widespread brain metastases, widespread bone metastases, lymph node metastases, and gastrointestinal syndrome."
She added: "They've even found spots of cancer on my liver, but it's still functioning. It's also between my chest bone and my lung, that's got bigger. Basically it's everywhere. When they showed me the PET scan, it's just everywhere."
The mother of four first discovered she had breast cancer in 2021 after having cosmetic surgery on her breasts following breastfeeding. She underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and eight different surgeries.
Pregnancy Revealed Return of Cancer
After recovering, Amy fell pregnant with Arlo. She said: "This pregnancy saved my life because I didn’t realise I was ill. After my breast cancer treatment, I was told I could never have kids so this baby is a miracle. At the start of my pregnancy, I started to feel unwell and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes for the first time ever."
She continued: "I was feeling a bit dizzy and faint but thought it was a side effect of the diabetes and tried to shake it off. Then my partner woke up to me having a seizure and an ambulance rushed me to hospital, I don’t remember any of that. Within a couple of days, they told me the cancer had come back and there were seven masses on my brain."
Amy had an emergency caesarean in July 2026 at 31 weeks. When doctors wanted to begin chemotherapy, they found the cancer had spread further than previously thought. After months of scans and blood tests, she was told in November that the cancer had spread to her bones, chest, liver, breast, lymph nodes and brain, and that she was unlikely to live past Christmas.
Fighting for Her Children
Amy said: "I'm literally fighting for my life and living every day. It's breaking me inside. I'm not going to die, I will be there for my kids, I've got to look out for my kids. Mentally, mindset is everything. If you're not very good in your head, you're not going to fight it. I've already fought it once, I've met a lot of people and a lot of people have died and a lot of people have got through it."
Arlo, now four months old, is doing well at home. Amy said: "The little one is doing amazing. He's 15lb 2oz now, he's a right chunk. He's doing really really well considering he's a prem baby. It's crazy, bless him."
Although the cancer is incurable, doctors have started Amy on new medication. She said: "I'm having bone injections to help me with my bones. The cancer is in my pelvis and spine, so I'm struggling to walk. And I started a new medication this week that's supposed to help. It's still incurable, but it could help. I can't go back to work, I can't do anything. Some days I can't even walk properly."
Amy has been documenting her journey on Instagram and hopes sharing her story will help others. A friend, Kirsty Wilkinson, has set up a JustGiving page to support Amy, who said she was "so shocked and surprised" by the gesture and noted that she had fundraised for others but never for herself before.
