Pregnant Newscaster Gets Ultrasound, Doctors Realize Pregnancy Turned Into Rare Cancer

Nov 05, 2019 by apost team

In August 2019 news anchor Michelle Velez got some exciting news. She tested positive for pregnancy. She and her husband were excited. This would be their third child together and they couldn't be happier.

Velez, who is a news anchor at KSNV in Las Vegas, NV, went to the doctor hopeful of receiving more good news. Shockingly, she was told that her gestational sac was empty and that she had miscarried the baby. The doctors recommended she let the miscarriage occur naturally, and Velez returned home, saddened by the news.

Only Velez continued getting sick. She returned to her doctors for answers and found out that instead of having a miscarriage, the tissue that should have developed into a fetus had instead continued to grow into invasive tissue. Velez was told that this was called a molar pregnancy.

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Quickly, the invasive tissue grew and without warning began to invade her uterus and other tissues in her body. The tissue had turned into a type of cancer called choriocarcinoma. In women, cells that should have developed into the placenta become cancerous and spread very quickly. For Velez, cancer spread to her lungs, spleen, and liver.

In recent months, Velez has had to undergo severe treatments that included blood transfusions and aggressive chemotherapy. By her side are her husband, mother, and her long-time co-worker and best friend Krystal, who Velez said was there during her darkest days in an interview with Inside Edition.

Velez didn't feel comfortable letting her other co-workers know what was going on. Eventually, she felt brave enough to post her story on social media, which was the first time her other co-workers learned the news. Velez had mixed feelings about other people knowing about her situation because she felt there was a stigma surrounding miscarriage and was worried other people might think that her body had failed the baby. Velez has learned that one in four women have miscarriages, and she decided that she wanted to share her story to help people better understand what she was going through.

Currently, Velez is still undergoing treatment for her condition, but she is positive, hopeful, and a fighter. She is surrounded by her loving husband and two children as well as her close friends and co-workers. She has noted on social media that cancer is her reality but it does not define her and that she is a wife, mother, news anchor, and warrior.

Velez's story is one of heartbreak and courage. How has Velez's story inspired you? What would you do if you or someone you loved had a similar experience? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to your friends and family.