Brisbane mum diagnosed with cancer on day she gave birth sadly dies

Karyn Love was given just three weeks to live, moments after she met her daughter Billi.

A Brisbane mother who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer on the day she gave birth, has tragically passed away.

Karyn Love was pregnant with her miracle baby when she had an emergency C-section at 29 weeks after going to hospital with excruciating back pain.

Within hours it was discovered she had metastatic breast cancer which had spread to her liver, bones and optic nerve.

The first-time single mum was given just three weeks to live, moments after meeting her daughter, Billi Ra in May 2021.

Despite the horror prognosis, the 39-year-old fought for her life and to be with her daughter, and lived for another 19 months.

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Karyn Love tragically died more than a year after receiving a devastating cancer diagnosis. Source: Instagram.

"Smile for me, I am free"

Karyn’s devastating death was announced on her Instagram account this week: "Karyn Louise Love. 1983-2022. Smile for me, I am free. Thank you for all your love and kindness throughout my journey, I will remember you."

A second post revealed the young mum had died on December 12.

A life celebration ceremony will be held in the Brisbane suburb of Brookfield on Sunday with mourners asked to wear white.

RELATED: ‘I gave birth and they told me I had 3wks to live’

Karyn with her daughter Billi. Source: Instagram.

Karyn recently travelled overseas for treatment

Karyn's story was shared by Brisbane-based natural medicine practitioner Camilla Chaplin on a GoFundMe page which ended up raising more than $200,000 for the mum's treatment, and a trust fund for Billi.

In an update posted to the page in June this year, Camilla said the next big goal was going overseas for cancer treatment. 

"While Karyn has exceeded everyone's expectations and not only lived longer than the three weeks the doctors initially gave her at diagnosis but gone on to celebrate Billi's first birthday, her health has plateaued," she wrote.

"The cancer in her bones remains stubbornly there and she feels something radical needs to happen for this to shift."

Karyn had hoped to travel to Mexico for treatment costing $60,000, but went to Germany instead in November

RELATED: Perth oncologist ‘curing’ women of Stage 4 breast cancer

Karyn Love recently returned from having treatment overseas. Source: Instagram.

“I was in a state of shock. I was in disbelief"

Karyn previously opened up to Kidspot about the moment she was given her shock diagnosis.

Moments after giving birth one of the doctors held Karyn’s hand and told her she was dying, and needed to choose a guardian for her newborn and enjoy the few days she had left with her baby.

“I was in a state of shock. I was in disbelief,” the Brisbane mum told Kidspot at the time.

 “I just lay there numb physically from the epidural and emotionally. I’d given life and then told that same day I have widespread cancer throughout my body.”

Having always been an advocate of healthy living, with no family history of cancer, Karyn never suspected anything could be wrong, other than what she believed were pregnancy-related issues until she began to feel “horrific pain” in her body just before 28 weeks.

Like many pregnant women, Karyn felt she had to just “suck it up”, until one night at 29 weeks - the pain became so overwhelming that she couldn’t bear it any longer and an inner voice told her to go to hospital.

“They came back in quite a hurry and said … ‘you need to have this baby. If you don’t both of you won’t survive’,” she said.

Karyn Love fought for her life for 19 months. Source: Instagram.

“I held her and said, ‘I am not going'"

Karyn was moved to intensive care where scans revealed she had stage four cancer. 

“They didn’t expect me to live longer than three weeks,” she explained.

It was five days before Karyn finally got to hold her precious baby.

“The moment I held my daughter and got skin-on-skin was when the vulnerability of my life hit - that was when the real heaviness of it hit home.”

“I held her I looked at her and said, ‘I am not going, I am staying’."

After three weeks in hospital, moving between NICU and the oncology ward, Karyn chose to go home.

After 69 days in hospital, Billi Ra came home.

 “Since I been living like I’m dying, I’ve actually been starting to live - and living a life very, very present like I’ve never felt before,” she explained.

“I want my daughter to remember me and be proud of how her mumma chose to live her life.”

Originally published as Brisbane mum diagnosed with cancer on day she gave birth sadly dies