Published Mar 23, 2026

Mom Diagnosed With Metastatic Breast Cancer in Her Mid-30s During Second Pregnancy Shares How She Went On to Thrive: ‘I’m Still Here’

Details
Transcript
Save This Video

Coping With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis While Pregnant

Florida native Jonise S. Louis was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer shortly before discovering she was pregnant with her second child, and after following her oncologist’s guidance, she safely underwent treatment during pregnancy and welcomed a healthy baby boy.
Now “thriving” five and a half years later, she’s sharing her story to inspire others, emphasizing faith and the importance of hope.
Facing cancer as a parent can be an incredibly difficult task. But having children who depend on you can also provide another reason to fight the disease with everything you’ve got.
Metastatic breast cancer, also called “stage four” breast cancer, occurs when the cancer has spread, or metastasized, beyond the breasts to other parts of the body. It most commonly spreads to the bones, liver and lungs, but it may also spread to the brain or other organs.
While treatment for metastatic breast cancer is not curative, it can improve your quality of life. You and your doctor will work together to develop a treatment plan that’s right for you.

Florida native Jonise S. Louis diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer nearly six years ago and discovered she was pregnant with her second child a week later. With guidance and support from her oncologist, she underwent treatment, welcomed a healthy baby boy, and is now “thriving.”

Louis, who turned 41 this year, recently attended the 43rd Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, where she took part in CURE’s metastatic breast cancer (MBC) panel.

Sharing her story with CURE, Louis remembers her oncologist offering encouragement and reassurance that she could handle treatment successfully. She underwent chemotherapy during her pregnancy and was able to safely welcome her second son, who is turning five soon.

As for how she felt ahead of treatment, Louis told CURE it was “very scary” before learning if it was possible to undergo treatment while pregnant.

“The first doctor who I saw actually suggested termination of pregnancy to focus on treatment of the breast cancer, but after seeing my oncologist, who I’m still seeing today, who’s phenomenal, she assured me that I would be able to be fully treated with while pregnant, and that the chemotherapy would not cross the placenta and affect the baby,” Louis explained.

“So I went with that plan, and I’m still here.”

She continued, “Although he was not my first child, I just felt like, ‘Hey, God is the one who gives children,’ and for me to just see that child, bring that child to life. That was just my ultimate goal.

“I knew that leaning on my faith would bring me through treatment and the pregnancy, and I would be just fine.”

Louis describes herself as “THRIVING with MBC” on her Instagram, writing in one of her posts, “Some days are good, some days are tough – but I’m grateful for all days!

“It is my purpose to help and inspire others by sharing my testimony and to deliver the message that life can go on, with cancer and after cancer.”

She continued, “You can’t always choose your path but you can choose the way in which you respond and how you live.

“Circumstances are as powerful as we allow them to be. I make a conscious choice to wake up everyday and live my life to the fullest, grateful for all of the things that I do have. ⁣

Earlier this year, she took to Instagram to praise turning 41 as a “gift.”

“God’s grace continues to carry me through. Thank you for all the birthday love and wishes,” she captioned her post, featuring a photo of herself smiling.

“God and research are what keep me here. The most meaningful way to celebrate with me is by supporting the research that gives families like mine more time and more hope.”

Treatment Options for Advanced Breast Cancer

Metastatic breast cancer (also called stage 4) means cancer cells have spread from the breast to other parts of the body, which may include the bones, liver, lungs, brain, and beyond.

Breast cancer spreads through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The blood carries cancer cells to different body parts, where they grow as new tumors.

As the cancer spreads to other body parts, patients may experience additional symptoms depending on where the cancer has spread. Examples include:

Bones: Severe bone pain or fractures
Lungs: Difficulty breathing, chest pain, new cough
Liver: Yellowing of the skin (jaundice), abdominal pain, nausea, and/or vomiting
Brain: Headaches, memory loss, changes in vision, seizures

WATCH: Treatment options for metastatic breast cancer.

Although stage 4 breast cancer is not curable, several treatment options exist that can extend the life of patients. Treatment options depend on the stage, type of primary breast cancer, and whether hormone receptors are positive.

Treatment can include a combination of:

Chemotherapy: Oral or IV medications that are toxic to tumor cells
Hormonal therapies: Drugs that lower estrogen levels or block estrogen receptors from allowing the cancer cells to grow
Targeted therapies: Drugs that target your tumor’s specific gene mutations
Immunotherapy: Medications that stimulate your immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells
Radiation: The use of high-energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors
Surgery: To remove a cancerous tumor or lymph nodes (uncommon with stage IV; more common in stages I, II, and III)
Clinical trials: Studies of new medications, treatments, and other therapies offer hope for better outcomes.

Navigating the Emotional Journey of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming, and it’s completely natural for emotions to fluctuate throughout the process. Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik explains that emotional responses can shift from day to day, sometimes bringing unexpected waves of stress or uncertainty.

“The patient or person going through the stressful event should accept that emotions will be fluid,” Dr. Plutchik says. “You may feel fine one day and then feel a massive wave of stress the next. It’s also important for those you look to for support—whether that’s a therapist, friends, family, or both—to understand the fluidity of stress-related emotions.”

If your emotional well-being begins to feel significantly impacted, seeking mental health support may be beneficial. Options for care include traditional talk therapy, medication, lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet modifications, joining a support group, or other personalized approaches.

Here are a few ways to help manage the emotional toll of a breast cancer diagnosis:

Lean on loved ones. Open up to your family and close friends, allowing them to step in and offer support. Many cancer survivors express a strong need for assistance but struggle to ask for help—encourage those around you to offer practical aid, whether it’s meals, transportation, or simply a listening ear.
Keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts and emotions can be a powerful way to process feelings. A journal provides a safe space to express yourself and reflect on your journey.
Join a cancer support group. Local and online groups offer an opportunity to connect with others who are facing similar experiences. Learning from others and sharing your story can provide comfort and strength on difficult days.
Consider therapy. Speaking with a mental health professional can help you navigate fears and concerns in a safe, supportive environment. Sometimes, vocalizing emotions rather than keeping them inside makes a meaningful difference in coping with stress.

While the path may feel uncertain, finding the right support system and coping strategies can make a profound impact on your mental and emotional well-being. Breast cancer is a challenge, but you are not alone—and healing happens in many ways beyond the physical.

How Cancer Treatment Can Affect Fertility

Some types of chemotherapy can destroy eggs in your ovaries. This can make it impossible or difficult to get pregnant later. Whether or not chemotherapy makes you infertile depends on the type of drug and your age since your egg supply decreases with age.

“The risk is greater the older you are,” Jaime Knopman, MD, previously told SurvivorNet. “If you’re 39 and you get chemo that’s toxic to the ovaries, it’s most likely to make you menopausal. But, if you’re 29, your ovaries may recover because they have a higher baseline supply.”

Radiation to the pelvis can also destroy eggs. It can damage the uterus, too. Surgery to your ovaries or uterus can hurt fertility as well.

Meanwhile, endocrine or hormone therapy may block or suppress key fertility hormones and may prevent a woman from getting pregnant. This infertility may be temporary or permanent, depending on the type and length of treatment.

If you are having a treatment that includes infertility as a possible side effect, your doctor won’t be able to tell you for sure whether you will have this side effect. That’s why you should discuss your options for fertility preservation before starting treatment.

Research shows that women who have fertility preservation prior to breast cancer treatment, in particular, are more than twice as likely to give birth after treatment than those who don’t take fertility-preserving measures.

Dr. Jaime Knopman talks about fertility preservation after a cancer diagnosis

Your Options For Preserving Your Fertility Before Cancer Treatment

Most women who preserve their fertility before cancer treatment do so by freezing their eggs or embryos.

After you finish your cancer treatment, a doctor who specializes in reproductive medicine can implant one or more embryos in your uterus or the uterus of a surrogate with the hope that it will result in pregnancy.

If you freeze eggs only before treatment, a fertility specialist can use sperm and your eggs to create embryos in vitro and transfer them to your uterus.

When freezing eggs or embryos is not an option, doctors may try these less common approaches:

Ovarian tissue freezing, an experimental approach for girls who haven’t yet reached puberty and don’t have mature eggs or for women who must begin treatment right away and don’t have time to harvest eggs.
Ovarian suppression to prevent the eggs from maturing so that they cannot be damaged during treatment.
Ovarian transposition, for women getting radiation to the pelvis, to move the ovaries out of the line of treatment.

In addition to preserving eggs or embryos, positive research has shown that women with early-stage hormone-receptor (HR) positive breast cancer were able to safely pause endocrine therapy to try to get pregnant and they did not have worse short-term recurrence rates than people who did not stop ET.

In the study from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, most of those people who paused ET were able to conceieve and deliver healthy babies.

Of course, your doctor will be able to help you understand your unique circumstances and which path such as pausing endocrine therapy is right for you.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may have questions about how to keep your strength through treatment. Here are a few questions to help you begin the conversation:

What treatment will I be receiving?
What side effects are associated with this treatment?
Are there steps I can take daily to help minimize these side effects?
What physical activity routine do you recommend for me during treatment?
Do you have recommendations for someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy exercise?