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By Alyce Collins and Sydney Glander
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A cancer diagnosis is lifechanging regardless of when it happens, but when you’re 22 weeks pregnant with your second child, it’s especially devastating.
I was just 20 years old when I knew there was a risk of this occurring in my future. At that time, my sister tested positive for a BRCA mutation, so there was a 50/50 chance of me being a carrier too. I also knew that screening would begin when I turned 25, so I waited as long as possible to get myself tested.
I figured there was no reason spending years stressing about something I couldn’t really do anything about yet.
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At the age of 24, I finally went for the test. Lo and behold, I tested positive for the BRCA mutation. I had subconsciously prepared myself for a positive result, so I was pretty numb when I found out. Call me pessimistic, but I went into the genetic testing assuming I was already BRCA positive.
As soon as I found out, I reached out to Memorial Sloan Kettering and was enrolled in the RISE program. From ages 25 to 29, the plan was an annual breast MRI and physical exam. Then after I turned 30, an annual mammogram was added, so I would have breast imaging every six months, alternating between MRIs and mammograms, along with an annual physical.
‘The Worst News of Your Life’
For the last few years, I attended all my screenings, and thankfully, nothing was discovered.
Yet in 2026, my life was forever changed.
It started off great, because in February I found out I am expecting my second child. My husband and I were absolutely thrilled at the prospect of welcoming another baby into our family. Not to mention, I am one of those women who loves being pregnant. Luckily, I never had morning sickness, and pregnancy has been pretty blissful for the most part.
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During those initial few months, I loved watching my bump grow and felt so excited to give my daughter a sibling.
By May, I arrived for my annual imaging appointment. It was initially supposed to be an MRI, but it is not recommended that women be exposed to the contrast typically used in a breast MRI. In fact, I almost canceled the appointment, but my doctor quickly changed it to a mammogram instead—my first one.
Unfortunately, the mammogram showed two areas of calcification.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly worried at first because I knew a few women who had calcifications after breastfeeding. So, I did not immediately think anything was wrong. However, the next step was to undergo an even more detailed mammogram, followed by a biopsy.
I was extremely hesitant to have a biopsy while pregnant, especially as it was only based on calcifications and nothing else. Even if something was wrong, I was halfway through my pregnancy, so I presumed that surely I couldn’t undergo any treatment until after I gave birth anyway.
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That night, I went home and did some research of my own. I learned that breast cancer can be treated safely during pregnancy, so I didn’t just have to sit and wait after all. Nonetheless, I was still reluctant, but my husband encouraged me to schedule the biopsy.
All I can say now is thank God he did.
The biopsy rolled around on June 9, and I had to wait an agonizing six days for the results.
At 30 years old, and while 22 weeks pregnant, I was initially diagnosed with ER positive, PR positive HER2 negative invasive lobular carcinoma. However, my final diagnosis came after the mastectomy pathology, which was triple positive stage 2 breast cancer (both lobular and ductal tumors were present in my mastectomy pathology).
People often talk about being diagnosed during a face-to-face consultation with their doctor, but I got my diagnosis while in a children’s playground of all places. I saw a MyChart notification pop up on my phone while at an indoor playground with my 18-month-old daughter. I shed a couple of tears at first, but then I pulled myself together until her naptime.
Parenting doesn’t stop, even when you receive the worst news of your life.
It’s hard to put into words how I felt. I was scared for myself, my daughter, and my unborn baby. I felt confused and angry. I like to think of myself as a positive person, but for a while, I couldn’t stop asking, ‘why me?’
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‘A Chapter of my Life, Not My Whole Story’
After receiving my diagnosis, things moved quickly.
On July 1, at NYU Langone, I underwent a unilateral mastectomy with a tissue expander placed for reconstruction. We did a unilateral mastectomy because my surgeons wanted to keep the procedure as quick as possible due to my pregnancy. I will undergo another mastectomy postpartum, after I have completed my other treatments.
Once the pathology from my mastectomy came back, my oncologist confirmed that I would need chemotherapy. I had my first round on July 28 and have now completed three rounds. I will have my fourth round after I deliver my baby, followed by 12 Taxol infusions.
The break in treatment is to give my body time to recover physically from the chemotherapy before giving birth.
So far, the hardest part has been recovering from the mastectomy with a toddler at home. Being unable to pick up my daughter for several weeks was heartbreaking, and I'm already dreading going through that again next year.
As for the first few rounds of chemotherapy, I feel incredibly lucky that I've had minimal side effects, aside from fatigue and losing my hair. But I'm also 35 weeks pregnant, so I honestly can't tell whether it’s the chemo or the pregnancy making me tired anymore.
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Despite the break in treatment, I still see my OB-GYN weekly to monitor the baby. Thankfully, she is doing really well, and I will likely be induced between 38 and 39 weeks.
Overall, I'm doing fine and I try to focus on the fact that this is a chapter of my life, not my whole story. I have a beautiful family, another baby on the way, and so much to look forward to once treatment is behind me.
‘Every Woman Deserves to Understand Her Risk’
The biggest thing I've learned through this experience is that being young and pregnant doesn't make you immune to breast cancer. I'm incredibly grateful that screening caught my cancer when it did, and I feel confident that I will beat this.
I started sharing my experience on TikTok and Instagram because I want to turn what happened to me into something positive by spreading awareness. My hope is that people take a sense of empowerment from my story, not fear. Knowing your risk gives you the opportunity to be proactive about your health, and in my case, that knowledge may have saved my life.
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The type of breast cancer I was initially diagnosed with, invasive lobular carcinoma, often doesn't form a lump. It can grow in thin strands through the breast tissue, making it much harder to detect. Three physicians examined me in the months before my mammogram, and none of them felt anything abnormal.
Without my high-risk screening, my cancer probably would have gone undetected. That's why I encourage every woman to understand her personal breast cancer risk. Take the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment, talk to your doctor about family history, and ask whether genetic testing is appropriate.
Most women don't begin mammograms until 40, but for me, waiting until then would have been too late. Understanding my risk for breast cancer may have saved my life. Every woman deserves the opportunity to understand her risk and make informed decisions about her health.
Sydney Glander, 30, resides in Long Island, New York, with her husband and daughter, and their second child is due in October 2026. Following her cancer diagnosis, she has been documenting her experience on social media (@sydglander on TikTok and @syd.j.glander on Instagram) to highlight the importance of early detection.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Marc Vargas and Emma Lee-Sang
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