A mum who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer while pregnant with her first child and told chemotherapy would leave her infertile has just given birth to her second 'miracle' baby.
Shannon Maya Lamb, 31, was diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer in October 2020, after spotting a lump on her pelvis while lying in the bath. She had invasive surgery to remove the tumour and discovered she was pregnant with her first child in March 2022. But the news came weeks after learning her ovarian cancer had already spread to her lung, and needed surgery to remove a portion of it.
When a CT scan revealed at 31 weeks pregnant that there was further disease in a 4cm lymph node beside her lung, she needed emergency chemotherapy and an emergency caesarean section to deliver her premature son, Hunter, who is now three. What followed were 11 further rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, and two stem cell transplants.
Diagnosis and Treatment Journey
Shannon was first diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer after spotting a lump on her abdomen, which grew within a matter of weeks. She said: "I had been lying in the bath. It was hard, and my friend suggested it might a hernia. I didn't know what was wrong."
She was referred to gynaecology and it was confirmed to be a 14cm by 13cm cancerous tumour on her left ovary. On December 22, she underwent surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to remove the infected ovary and surrounding affected areas. From then, she was discharged and given regular scans as it was believed to have removed all the cancer. She was thrilled to learn she had fallen pregnant in April 2022.
However, around the same time, Shannon began suffering with shortness of breath, fatigue, aching joints and weight loss. A chest x-ray revealed a 'suspicious shadow' on her lung - which biopsies later revealed were a relapse. At 16 weeks, Shannon had a surgery to remove the bottom lobe of her right lung, which contained five tumours. But at 29 weeks pregnant, a CT scan revealed the cancer had already spread and there were tumours on her lymph node, spine, coccyx, left pelvic bone and by her kidney.
Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplants
Shannon said: "I started chemotherapy at 31 weeks and gave birth to Hunter just after that. Four days after my emergency c-section I was back having more chemotherapy. I just wanted to be with my baby, but I couldn't. I had to FaceTime him with the nurses. When I could finally see him, it was only for 30 minutes a day when I was disconnected from the chemo, and I had to wear gloves."
Shannon spent the following months having 11 rounds of chemotherapy, and then two stem cell transplants with high-dose chemo. Throughout the course of the stem cell transplants, Shannon caught sepsis twice, and feared at points she wouldn't survive. By August 2023, the treatment was over, and a surgery in October 2024 to remove bones in her spine to test for cancer revealed it was gone, and had been in remission since July 2023. She has now been in remission for three years.
But she was warned before the chemotherapy and stem cell transplants that eradicating the cancer would cost her her fertility. Shannon said: "Especially with one ovary, I was told the chance of recovering ovary function was pretty much nil. I was deemed infertile and menopausal, and prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT)."
Miracle Pregnancy and Birth
In October 2024, she was confirmed to be in remission - but due to the life-saving cancer treatments, she was told she couldn't fall pregnant again. But in November 2025, she got sore breasts and a period - and discovered she had fallen pregnant again. Single mum Shannon, who is now over two years cancer free, was delighted to learn she was expecting a healthy baby girl, who was born last month.
Shannon said: "I remember first noticing this lump on the side of my pelvis, and my hair began to thin. I first questioned if it was a hernia but it ended up causing the worst pain I'd ever felt. It was aggressive cancer and I had surgery all alone because of covid. But in early 2022 I got shortness of breath and I found out there was a 'suspicious' nodule in my lung, the same week I learned I was pregnant. I had surgery at 16 weeks pregnant, but the cancer had already spread. I had Hunter at 31 weeks and went down to the chemo unit four days later. I needed to stay alive for my son, I'd have given up without him. I was told I would be infertile after the stem cell transplants - I just had to accept it. So it's a miracle I'm here, my son is here, and I have my miracle baby daughter too."
Incredibly, Shannon was indeed expecting a baby girl - and miracle baby Zayla was born via c-section on July 22. Shannon had some complications and was hospitalised after her bowel became obstructed in the weeks leading up to the birth, and Zayla suffered with three bouts of jaundice shortly after birth. But now the family are all happy, healthy and safe at home and Shannon is loving being a mum-of-two.
She said: "During treatment, I was on death's door. I would never have imagined now I'd have a healthy little boy and a little girl. I'm meant to be infertile! My friend joked I must just have a really strong ovary. I'm being monitored but as far as we are aware, I'm still completely cancer free. The whole thing has been miraculous - unbelievable and a blessing. I'm grateful to have been given a second chance at life, and my little girl is a miracle. I look at her and I'm so in love, I can't find the words to describe it. I'm so blessed to have both my daughter and my son. I'm so, so lucky. I hope my story might give others hope - when there doesn't seem like there can be a happy ending, there might still be one anyway."
