Leopold mum Isla Foy diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with second child

A Leopold mum was 32-weeks pregnant with her second child when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Leopold mum Isla Foy was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 32-weeks pregnant with her second child. Pictured with toddler, Bailey, and newborn, Freddie.

A Leopold mum was 32-weeks pregnant with her second child when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Isla Foy noticed a lump on her left breast in February but didn’t think twice about it as she was still expressing milk for her first son, Bailey.

“Going through pregnancy, your body goes through so many changes so I didn’t think too much of it,” she said.

“Fast forward to 25-weeks pregnant, I started to get pain in my left breast.”

On August 10, at 32-weeks pregnant, Mrs Foy had an ultrasound at a breast-care clinic in Geelong.

“I thought it was just an infection,” she said.

“But I even noticed (during the ultrasound) that it didn’t look quite right, it was a big white mass.”

Leopold mum Isla Foy was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 32-weeks pregnant with her second child.

She then had a mammogram and biopsy the same day and five days later she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It was a shock,” she said.

Two days after Mrs Foy started chemotherapy, she started bleeding and was rushed to hospital, where she started having contractions.

“We thought we were going to have the baby but I was put on steroids to slow down the contractions,” she said.

“But technically, my waters had broken.”

Days later, her second son, Freddie, was born premature at 34 weeks and one day by emergency caesarean.

“I really wanted to breastfeed, or at least express milk, for Freddie but because of my treatment I wasn’t able to,” she said.

Mrs Foy has undergone four rounds of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC) chemotherapy treatment.

She is currently having weekly taxol, also known as paclitaxel, treatment, which is used to slow down the growth of breast cancer and reduce the chance of it spreading to other parts of her body.

Leopold mum Isla Foy with her husband, Trevor, toddler, Bailey, and newborn, Freddie.

But last week, Mrs Foy found out she will undergo a single mastectomy.

“It was expected but when I received the news, it all become real … so I had a good cry about it,” she said.

“It’s also a preventive measure so the cancer doesn’t come back.”

Mrs Foy is documenting her journey with cancer online in a bid to help raise awareness and encourage people to get their breasts checked.

“You hear about people going through cancer … but you don’t often know what exactly they are going through,” she said.

“It’s also helped us deal with it and be more positive about it.

“Someone reached out to me and said that, because of me and my story, they found a lump and went to a breast-care clinic to get checked.

“It’s nice to know we are making an impact and might save someone else’s life.”

Mrs Foy’s husband, Trevor, is also taking part in a push-up challenge this month for the McGrath Foundation.

He aims to complete 20,675 push-ups, the number of Australians estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023.

To follow Mrs Foy’s journey, visit instagram.com/islasroadtorecovery.

To support Mrs Foy and her family, head to gofundme.com/islas-road-to-recovery.

Originally published as Leopold mum Isla Foy diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with second child