Melbourne mum's heartbreaking diagnosis weeks after giving birth to miracle baby

"We’re still in the dark, and there could still be more we don’t know about," Taylor's husband Jesse says of her diagnosis.

Joel Erickson

3 min read

July 7, 2023 - 12:04PM

Family Life

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Editor's Note: Taylor tragically lost her battle with cancer in September, 2023.

Jesse and Taylor Johnston were over the moon when they announced their pregnancy to their family.

The Melbourne couple had struggled to get pregnant for two-and-a-half years naturally, and after one failed round of IVF, they got the news they’d been waiting years for after a second round.

However, the joy would turn to worry during Taylor’s labour, as a nurse discovered strange polyps on her cervix during a routine examination.

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“It was pretty mixed emotions that day,” Jesse told Kidspot.

“The nurse did a couple of examinations to see if she was dilated, and one of the midwives felt polyps on the front of her cervix that they said felt a bit abnormal.

“They thought she wasn’t dilating because of those, so they decided to do a caesarean.

“That was pretty hectic, I didn’t realise how full on it would be, but there were a lot of doctors in the room.

“They can’t be gentle trying to get the baby out, she was being thrown around a bit.”

Taylor and Jesse at a gender reveal for Billie. Picture: Supplied

Jesse and Taylor on their wedding day. Picture: Supplied

"We found out she has bone marrow cancer"

Despite the concern from the earlier news of the strange polyps, Jesse said there was immense joy when he first saw his daughter Billie.

“That first contact, it’s hard to explain,” he said.

“We’d gone through so much, and to have that moment where you finally see your baby, and have eye contact with her, was amazing.”

Doctors took a biopsy of the polyps on Taylor’s cervix, and the results showed Taylor was suffering from cancer.

“It’s spiralled from there,” Jesse said.

“She had a PET scan because they were worried it had spread, and that showed some hotspots around her body and her lymph nodes were a bit inflamed.

“Then they did a bone marrow biopsy, and that’s when we found out she has bone marrow cancer.”

Jesse and Taylor had been through two rounds of IVF treatment before falling pregnant. Picture: Supplied

The young Melbourne couple was excited to share their pregnancy news with family and friends. Picture: Supplied

"We're still in the dark"

That crushing news was only two weeks ago, and now Taylor has started a round of chemotherapy while being a mum to a seven-week-old baby.

Jesse said doctors still weren’t sure where the cancer had come from.

“She definitely has bone marrow cancer, but it usually has a primary cancer elsewhere,” he said.

“They’ve done extensive testing and they haven’t been able to pinpoint where it’s coming from.

“That’s been hard to take, because we’re still in the dark, and there could still be more we don’t know about.

“Tay has been pretty upset understandably, but since she started her chemo this week, I feel like her outlook has changed slightly. She’s seeming a little more positive, and the support we’ve received has really lifted her spirits.”

Taylor was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer shortly after giving birth to Billie. Picture: Supplied

The young mum is now parenting her newborn child while undergoing chemotherapy. Picture: Supplied

"The support from the community has been overwhelming"

Jesse’s family started a GoFundMe to help the young couple through the uncertain future, which had raised more than $47,000 as of Friday morning.

“We had a lot of support from our close friends and family, and when we put the page up we expected we’d probably get donations from the people closest to us, but the support from the general community, even people who don’t know us, has been pretty overwhelming,” Jesse said.

“We’ve got random people donating pretty big amounts of money. That’s lifted our spirits, not only because it’ll help us financially, but it gives you faith in your community and that people will help out when you need it.”

Billie was born after a 25-hour labour. Picture: Supplied

Billie is now seven weeks old. Picture: Supplied

"We're grateful for everyone's generosity"

Jesse said he hoped sharing his and Taylor’s story would help other people reach out for help when they need it.

“I hope this would encourage other people in similar situations to do the same thing,” he said.

“Taylor was a bit hesitant at the start, she was saying she didn’t want anyone’s pity or anything like that, but we’ve both realised we do need the help.

“We’re just super grateful for everyone’s generosity.”