When 26-year-old Krista Giannoukakis was pregnant with her second daughter last fall, she began to sense that something was wrong when she started bleeding heavily.
During her first trip to the hospital, the doctors told her not to worry and sent her home. When the bleeding continued, Giannoukakis visited the hospital four more times.
Eventually, the young mother from Hammonds Plains, N.S. went to a specialist who diagnosed her with stage two cervical cancer.
The heartbreaking news came when Giannoukakis was five-and-a-half months pregnant with her and fiancé Dustin’s second child.
A few months and several rounds of chemotherapy later, Giannoukakis gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Sophia in January.
As Giannoukakis struggled to cope with raising two small children and battling the disease, she received even worse news the day before her 26th birthday on March 9.
“I found out my cancer is terminal and that I have a year [left to live],” Giannoukakis told CTV Atlantic on Monday.
Giannoukakis’ mother Darlene Staples had a particularly hard time accepting the prognosis.
“I felt like I was losing my world almost immediately,” Staples said.
In an effort to help the young family, money is being raised through a GoFundMe campaign created by a relative. According to the crowdfunding site, the money raised will go towards “gas money for Krista’s appointments and treatment sessions in Halifax, special care help, medications and more.”
As of Tuesday morning, the campaign had raised $4,635 of its $8,500 goal.
“It’s overwhelming,” Giannoukakis said. “You don’t expect people to open their hearts like this.”
The young mother has become an inspiration to her family and friends, including her mother who said she marvels at her daughter’s strength.
“At the end of the day, I have two children that I need to be positive for, so I just try not to think about the negative,” Giannoukakis said.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko
