When you look at photographs of Fife parents Erin and Aaron Sammutt with their daughter Sophia you can tell she means the world to them both.
But what you might not realise is the heart-breaking journey the couple have been on following Erin’s breast cancer diagnosis at the young age of 26.
As well as finding out she had the disease, the now 33-year-old, learned her fertility might be affected after having cancer treatment.
So it really felt like a miracle when the high school teacher found out she was pregnant in the summer of 2020.
“My mum had learned from a family friend who is a consultant obstetrician that having chemotherapy would affect my fertility, ” Erin explains.
“And I knew that Aaron and I, who hadn’t even been married for two years at this point, had always wanted to have a family.
“I remember when my mum told us this and I was completely devastated.
“At that moment I didn’t know if I was going to live, never mind have a family.”
It has been a long road to recovery for the young mum, who lives in Cluny.
But now she has a little girl she cherishes.
And next year, she and Aaron, 33, who is a technical engineer, will be blessed with another new addition to their family when they welcome their second child.
Here she shares her story.
When did Erin realise something was wrong?
In early February 2018 Erin – who was 26 years old at the time – was working full-time as a craft, design and technology teacher at Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline.
She was also swimming five mornings a week and singing with Kirkcaldy Amateur Operatic Society (KAOS) and Kirkcaldy Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
“All of a sudden I just felt exhausted and couldn’t do it all,” the 33-year-old says.
“I remember lying in bed one morning and rolling over onto my side. As I did I felt a little pain.
“I didn’t consciously check my breast.
“But I felt the area on my right side where the pain was and I felt a lump.
“It was on my bra line and was about the size of a grape.
“Aaron felt it too and we thought I should get it checked.”
Being diagnosed with breast cancer
Erin made an appointment with her GP.
Her doctor examined her and he told Erin he didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
But he referred her for a mammogram to get checked just in case.
“As I was young, fit and healthy my GP had ticked the box for a routine check up rather than an emergency so I was going to have to wait 19 weeks for a consultation.
“Aaron and I are close to both our parents and they knew what was going on.
“They didn’t want me to wait that long so they urged me to go private.
“Within a week I had an appointment at Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh.”
At the appointment she was examined and sent for an ultrasound.
However, as the results were unclear, doctors recommended Erin have a biopsy.
A week later Erin went back with her mother-in-law Lorraine to get the results.
“It was then he told me that the biopsy results showed I had breast cancer.
“I just sat in shock.”
The doctor arranged to see Erin the next day at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to look at treatment options.
Chemotherapy could affect Erin’s fertility
After discovering cancer treatment could affect Erin’s fertility, the couple were referred to Ninewells Hospital.
At the Dundee hospital they were told about egg retrieval.
This would see eggs taken from Erin’s ovaries, which would be fertilised and frozen for potential future use.
This would be done before having chemotherapy in case the treatment damaged her ovaries.
But as they didn’t want to delay Erin’s cancer treatment, they were told they would need to carry out the procedure as soon as possible.
In the end they retrieved seven eggs, which were fertilised and frozen at Ninewells.
Erin was also given medication to protect her ovaries from being damaged by chemotherapy and to preserve her fertility.
What treatment did Erin have for breast cancer?
Erin went on to have three types of chemotherapy over 16 weeks at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy.
But half way through, Erin ended up with sepsis due to the treatment weakening her immune system – making it harder for her body to fight infections.
She spent a week in hospital as a result.
After taking some time to get better, Erin then had a lumpectomy at Queen Margaret Hospital.
And a few weeks later Erin had radiotherapy every day at the Western General for six weeks.
“After that finished we had a consultation with a doctor who basically told me I was cancer free.
“But that I would need to have a mammogram every year for the next 10 years.
“I just remember feeling absolutely exhausted.”
Time to start trying for a family
Erin took some time to recover from the cancer treatment and then lockdown happened in March 2020.
“It was at this point Aaron and I decided to start trying for a family.
“It didn’t happen right away, but it was explained to us that might be because my body had been through so much trauma.”
To the couple’s delight, it eventually happened naturally and Erin found out she was pregnant.
“When the pregnancy test came up positive we felt shock but also joy.
“We got an early scan at six weeks just to make sure the baby was ok. It was so emotional.”
Sophia was born shortly before 6am on February 13, 2021 at Victoria Hospital.
“We didn’t know what we were having,” Erin says.
“I remember when she was born I was a bit spaced out because of the gas and air. We were asking the nurse to tell us what the baby was.
“I asked if it was a girl and when we were told it was, that was a dream come true for me – I had always wanted a little girl.”
Family support
While Erin will never forget what she has been through, she is grateful she has had the support of her family and friends.
“I didn’t think I was a strong person,” she says.
“But when this happened it was literally fight or flight. And I knew if I wanted to survive I would have to fight.
“What I have been through will never go away – it will always be there, especially with having check ups every year.
She continues: “But my mum and dad, Aaron’s mum and dad and my friends have all been amazing.
“I wouldn’t have have got through it without their support.
“Aaron has been my rock throughout it all.
“We hadn’t even been married for two years when this happened.”
She adds: “But we said if we can get through this, we can get through anything together.”
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