A New Jersey family is grieving the loss of a young mother who discovered in her sixth month of pregnancy that she had terminal cancer. She died less than three week after the diagnosis.
Danielle Janofsky went to a hospital on February 8 with abdominal pains. She was 6 months pregnant with a baby boy at the time.
Doctors at the hospital soon discovered that Danielle had melanoma cancer that had spread to her liver, kidney, stomach and brain.
"She made the selfless and loving decision to deliver baby Jake on Friday February 24th thereby sacrificing herself so that her son could live," her loved ones wrote on a fundraising page.
Baby Jake weighed just 1 pound, 11 ounces when he was born. He is currently in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Pennsylvania.
Danielle died on February 27.
"If love could have saved her, she would have lived a hundred years," Danielle's mother, Barbara, wrote on Facebook.
Danielle is survived by her husband, Max Janofsky, her 4-year-old daughter Avery and baby Jake.
Her family set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for “the best medical care for Jake and additional funds will be used for education purposes for the children.”
Her family also wants to remind people to use sunscreen when engaging in outdoor activities.
