At the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Angela Kaewell had the special opportunity to give a big hug to OBGYN Dr. Elyce Cardonick from Cooper University Health Care and Oncologist Dr. Allison Aggon from Fox Chase. Both doctors played an instrumental role in her life once she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"We're all here today because I have two wonderful doctors who took very good care of me and my daughter. There were two lives saved," Kaewell said.
The mother of two was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. She then found out she was pregnant. She had a mastectomy and chemotherapy during her first trimester.
"She was nervous, who wants to hear they have cancer anytime in life, let alone when they're pregnant," said Dr. Cardonick who has been helping moms like Kaewell for more than 20 years who battle cancer during their pregnancy.
Cardonick runs a childbirth registry, which tracks moms all over the world who have treated their cancer during pregnancy, and then monitors the health of their children as they grow up. It's how she is able to be a consultant and make recommendations for how other doctors should treat pregnant patients with various types of cancer.
Kaewell is one of the hundreds of success stories. She was treated for a little over a year and continues to take medicine.
Dr. Allison Aggon is her oncologist. Aggon even keeps Kaewell's birth announcement on her office wall. Kaewell was the first pregnant woman she operated on for breast cancer.
"We knew we could take good care of her, and with the right resources, take care of baby Allison," Dr. Aggon said.
Kaewell named her daughter after her oncologist. She said both women will forever be her heroes.
"They both saved me and my daughter. There's nothing I can say to express how I feel about them," said Kaewell.
For more information about the childbirth registry, CLICK HERE.
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