Nicola Kane had always wanted a child. So she was shocked when she learned that she had the same 'cancer gene' as Angelina Jolie.
She was told that she had an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, and that if she had a child naturally, there was a 50% chance of passing the BRCA gene onto a child.
Nicola (35) from Renfrewshire didn't let that stop her from following her dream of becoming a mum. But she didn't want to pass the faulty gene onto her child, either.
So she decided to undergo IVF. She lost over a stone to give herself the best chance of succeeding with special IVF to screen out the cancer gene.
She fell pregnant with her second and final round of IVF, and she couldn't be happier now that her little boy Murray is here. And she's relieved to know that she has done all she can to prevent her son and possible future generations from having to cope with the faulty gene.
"Everything has been worth it to have my little miracle baby," she told the Scottish Daily Record.
"Murray cant have that gene now as we made sure we didn't pass it on. As far as my family is concerned, it has stopped at me, which is just fantastic."
Nicola’s mother found out that she had the BRCA gene, which prompted Nicola and her sisters to find out if they did too.
About 10-12% of women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime but those with the faulty BRCA genes have a 60-90% lifetime risk of breast cancer, and a 40-60% risk of ovarian cancer.
Naturally, Nicola was devastated to learn she had the gene.
"To say I was completely devastated is an understatement," she said. "My whole life plans changed in that instant. Colin (her partner) and I had talked about having our own family and this put a spanner in the works for us."
Knowing that it was likely she'd pass on the gene to a child conceived naturally, Nicola was pleased to hear about a treatment called PGD IVF (preimplantation genetic diagnosis), where her fertilised eggs could be screened for the gene before being implanted.
"They would then be able to give us a 99% guarantee that our baby would not have this faulty gene."
With a BMI of 27.5 at the time, Nicola knew she'd have to lose weight if the treatment was likely to work. She lost a stone, and after one unsuccessful IVF round, Nicola was delighted when round two resulted in little Murray.
"He came out and was the image of his daddy," she said. "I was exhausted and tired but crying with happiness and had this little guy in my arms. Everything we had gone through was worth it. It was the best feeling ever."
