Any mum who has had to stop breastfeed, for whatever reason, knows that it can be a very emotional thing to go through (there will be tears).
However, the tears from Ashley Kostiuk were particularly emotional, as she was to stop nursing in order to begin breast cancer treatment.
Ashley's close friend, photographer Jaclyn Briggs, documented her very last time nursing her baby, and the photos are extremely moving.
Ashley discovered a lump in her breast while nursing her bub back in June 2016, and she did her best not to focus on the hardships that the diagnosis would cause her - focusing mainly on her baby.
"Cancer meant time spent away from her children. Cancer also meant prematurely weaning her son from breastfeeding. So the morning prior to starting treatment and doctors appointments, I grabbed my camera, some coffees, and hot chocolates and headed over to Ashley's.
Her husband was close by to offer support and play with their 3-year-old daughter who was busily moving around the house in her jammies, unaware of how life-changing the coming days were. Her innocence was such a blessing that day," Jaclyn said to POPSUGAR.
For the last time, Ashley sat rocking her baby in a chair, holding him close, enjoying the last moments of normalcy before beginning treatment.
"She started to feed him and as he began reaching for her face and pulling away to smile at her, the tears started to roll. As mothers, these are the moments we live for. These were the moments she was having to say good-bye to."
This month, Ashley finished chemotherapy and has undergone a double mastectomy, but according to a GoFundMe page set up to help with hospital expenses, she still has a number of surgeries to go.
"I hope that she can look at these images and feel happiness that she provided for her children — not only in feeding them, but also in getting the medical help she needed to be with them for many, many years to come."
We were incredibly moved by these gorgeous images.
