My baby gave me cancer: Mother beats rare illness that was triggered during pregnancy

Illness: Miss Conway, pictured while pregnant, discovered she had cancer when Amelia, pictured aged one month, was only nine months old.

It was the ‘best feeling in the world’ for Helen Conway when she discovered she was expecting her first baby.

But after the birth of daughter Amelia, her joy was shattered when it emerged she had developed a rare form of cancer that only occurs during pregnancy.

Miss Conway, a consultant for a bank, was diagnosed with choriocarcinoma which affects fewer than 20 women a year in the UK.

It develops in the placenta when cells that were part of a normal pregnancy become cancerous and spread to other parts of the body. The cause is not known and it can develop months or even years after pregnancy, making it difficult to diagnose.