KSNV News Anchor Michele Velez is active on social media. Her followers have always been looking forward to seeing her posts about her personal life events. On her social media accounts, Velez proudly posts the times spent with her husband and their two kids. Late last week, though, her post was quite more personal—a piece of information not to be proud of, but she felt worth sharing. From abnormal pregnancy, she was diagnosed with a rare condition—gynecologic cancer.
According to Yahoo! Lifestyle, the female reporter posted on her Instagram and Facebook accounts that she is experiencing an unusual pregnancy called molar pregnancy. Velez explained that the pregnancy she has "is not viable or a fetus is never formed." Nevertheless, instead of experiencing miscarriage because of the absence of a fetus during the abnormal pregnancy, it continues to grow and create intrusive tissue.
What is molar or abnormal pregnancy?
Abnormal pregnancy, also called molar pregnancy, is an unusual complication of pregnancy. It is described by Mayo Clinic as characterized by irregular development of trophoblasts, the cells typically forming in the placenta. Molar pregnancy has two types: the partial molar pregnancy, and the complete molar pregnancy.
In a partial molar pregnancy, normal placental tissue may have occurred together with the formation of placental tissue. In this type, the fetus may form but is unable to survive. More so, it is typically miscarried early during pregnancy. One has a complete molar pregnancy if the placental tissue is abnormal, and there's swelling, too. It also appears to build cysts filled with fluid.
Roughly one in every 1000 pregnancies has molar pregnancy for a diagnosis. Several risk factors are linked with this atypical pregnancy. One risk factor is maternal age. There is a big chance for women over 35 years of age or those below 20 years old. Then, there's the previous molar pregnancy for another risk factor. One who's had a molar pregnancy is possible to have another. Meaning, a repeat abnormal pregnancy takes place, averagely, in one out of every 100 women.
Is the serious illness curable?
Despite her current condition, Velez still has something to be thankful for. In the latter part of her post, she shares luckily her cancer is treatable. For treatment, the doctor may employ a procedure known as dilation and curettage (D&C). Usually, this is the treatment for pregnancy loss for any reason. During the process, the doctor opens the cervix using specialized tools. Then, he removes the tissue from the patient's uterus.
Following a D&C, the doctor may conduct some blood tests a couple of times over the next couple of months. He checks whether the HCG levels are normalizing again. In rare conditions, a complete molar pregnancy can result in a disorder, also known as a persistent gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). GTD means there is abnormal tissue growing outside the uterus and in the layer of muscle underneath. A D&C procedure is not effective as it only eliminates tissue within the uterus. There might be a need to go through a hysterectomy or receive chemotherapy treatment for persistent GTD.
