A British woman who delayed chemotherapy so she could save her unborn baby's life died Sunday after a nearly five-year battle with ovarian cancer, the Daily Mail reported.
Gemma Nuttall, 29, of Lancashire, was diagnosed with the cancer in 2014, while she was 16 weeks pregnant, People reported, citing a GoFundMe page set up by the woman's mother, Helen Sproates.
"It is with an utterly broken heart that I have to tell you all that my beautiful warrior lost her battle early this morning," Sproates wrote on Facebook. "We fought so hard but we just couldn't do it anymore — I am one very proud but devastated mum right now — Sleep tight Gemma — My world will never be the same again."
Doctors gave Nuttall the option to terminate the pregnancy to receive chemotherapy for her tumor, but she decided to delay treatment until she gave birth to her daughter, Penelope by emergency C-section in March 2014, The Sun reported.
Penelope is now 4.
After the child was born, Nuttall underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Doctors found cervical cancer and were able to remove the tumor, and Nuttall spent the next two years cancer-free, People reported. But in April 2016 she was diagnosed with cancer of the brain and lung, the magazine reported.
Actress Kate Winslet stepped in, and with the help of “Titanic” co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, auctioned three dinners with “Jack and Rose” and raised $1.35 million in early 2018.
Winslet said Nuttall's death was "tragically sad" and called her "a beacon of strength," the Daily Mail reported.
“My heart breaks for her mum and daughter,” Winslet told the newspaper.
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