A pregnant woman and baby were saved after doctors found a tumor the size of a grapefruit

A Chicago woman was weeks away from giving birth painful cough led to a shocking medical discovery.

MaKenna Lauterbach, then 26, began having severe coughing fits over the past three months. her pregnancy.

“They would be so intense that there would be nausea and vomiting to the point of vomiting,” he told Fox News Digital.

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Lauterbach, who lives on a farm Washburn, Illinois ;while looking after his horses and goats, he also began to feel shortness of breath.

“I feed the horses every morning and I noticed how upset I was with the dry cough,” she said. “My body felt as if it had run two miles, when in fact I had only walked to the barn and back.”

MaKenna Lauterbach, pictured with her husband Parker and new baby Colter, has been diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma. (Northwestern Medicine)

Some doctors dismissed Lauterbach’s symptoms, which he repeatedly told her were “because she’s pregnant.”

Finally, when the coughing caused him to vomit, doctors did a scan and discovered a large, grapefruit-sized tumor in his mid-chest cavity and right lung that had completely blocked the artery leading to the right lung.

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“It’s extremely rare for this type of tumor to invade the major arteries of the heart,” says Chris Mehta, MD. heart surgeon Northwestern Medicine with the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, which specializes in complex heart reconstruction – in a press release.

“It’s extremely rare for this type of tumor to penetrate the major arteries of the heart.”

“Once in a few years we might see something like this.”

The tumor caused Lauterbach and her baby to have difficulty breathing.

‘In real trouble’

Lauterbach was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where a large medical team was waiting for him.

“MaKenna was really in trouble and we had to act fast—it wasn’t something that could wait until Monday morning,” said Lynn Yee, MD. maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Northwestern Medicine in graduation.

Despite being born three weeks early, little Colter is a thriving, happy baby boy today. “As for myself, I’m still recovering emotionally and physically,” Lauterbach said. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“When you’re almost full-term, your lungs are no longer working at full capacity, and when you add a giant tumor on top of that, you’re at risk of respiratory collapse and cardiac arrest.”

The baby did not tolerate Lauterbach’s contractions well blood pressure was landing.

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The team performed an emergency C-section and a healthy baby boy, Kolten, was born on Easter Sunday.

‘Breaking News’

After birth, it’s time to apply to the tumor.

“The tumor was sitting on top of McKenna’s heart and extended into the right lung, affecting all three lobes and the entire main body of the pulmonary artery,” said Calvin Lung, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Conservation Thoracic Institute. release.

Doctors performed a biopsy and diagnosed Lauterbach Stage 3 melanoma.

The Lauterbach family lives on a farm in Washburn, Illinois. MaKenna Lauterbach experienced severe coughing fits and shortness of breath while tending horses and goats for the first time. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

Doctors believe she may have developed melanoma at some point in her skin and started growing in her body, “skipping a cell or two.”

“It was a really overlooked piece of news,” Lauterbach told Fox News Digital. “When I first got the diagnosis, I passed out roller coaster of emotions.”

“I was grieving the birth plan I had spent months preparing, while also dealing with the news of my unexpected diagnosis.”

After an initial sense of relief at getting an answer, she said she felt a bit of anger because her symptoms had been addressed earlier. Then there was fear cancer itself.

“Because of the tumor, the birth happened so quickly. I was grieving the birth plan I had planned for months, while dealing with the news of my unexpected diagnosis,” she said.

“My condition was serious and my condition clinical team was working on a plan to treat my cancer, it was comforting to know that the NICU nurses (at Northwestern) took such wonderful care of our son.

Take life-saving measures

The team at Northwestern recommended switching to Lauterbach three cycles of immunotherapy before surgery, it helped reduce his tumor by 30%.

Dr. Lung and Dr. Mehta Lauterbach’s entire right lung, parts of the main pulmonary artery and lymph nodes were removed.

Lauterbach family from left to right Dr. Calvin Lung, registered nurse Mary Schuessler and Drs. Illustrated with Lynn Yee. (Northwestern Medicine)

“The surgery was risky compared to other cancer operations due to the need for cardiopulmonary bypass and the need to repair the main artery leading to both lungs, but it was performed in a very safe setting with well-proven techniques,” said Dr. Fox News Digital.

“We were even worried about it transaction volumewe would not be able to remove the tumor completely,” he said.

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If the tumor has grown a little further into the main artery that goes to the lungs, or if it is present attracted the heartwould have been a different result.

But the surgery was a success, and Lauterbach’s latest scans showed no signs of metastatic melanoma.

Colter Lauterbach is pictured with Santa before his first Christmas. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“Her outcome was very good,” Dr. Lung told Fox News Digital. “He has almost completely recovered from the operation and his main problem is shortness of breath as a result of only having one lung.”

“In terms of cancer prognosis, we expect it to be pretty good, given that the entire tumor is responding. immunotherapy treatment took.”

‘The New Normal’

Today, even though he was born three weeks early, little Colter Lauterbach is a thriving, happy baby boy.

“As for me, I’m still recovering emotionally and physically,” MaKenna Lauterbach said. “My lung capacity is approaching a ‘new normal’ for me and I’m finally starting to get back to some kind of normal routine.”

“There are days when bad memories and the unknown haunt my thoughts.”

Looking ahead, Lauterbach will continue immunotherapy treatments for a year, and Drs Monitor CT scans to ensure that the cancer does not return.

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Her cancer is now considered “stable disease,” with no new tumors, doctors say.

The new mother, who turned 27 in October, said she was looking forward to the birth of her son first christmas on the farm.

MaKenna and Parker Lauterbach are pictured with their son Colter after he was born by emergency C-section. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“Emotionally, I try my best not to let reality weigh on me, but there are days when bad memories and the unknown haunt my thoughts,” she said.

“Coulter and my wonderful husband, Parker, gave me the strength to get through it all.”

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Lauterbach emphasized the importance for other women “knowing your body.”

He advised: “If you know something isn’t right, don’t say ‘I don’t know’ for an answer. Find someone who will take your concerns seriously and do further tests rather than go missing. Something life-threatening.”