A 34-year-old mother of three, Musgrove had long considered surrogacy, especially after seeing a friend go through the experience firsthand. Last year, she found the right fit in a family out of state. After the first attempt was not successful, the next was held in October.
“I am a bit weird, I like being pregnant,” Musgrove said with a laugh. “Seeing the connection with the parents and their baby, meeting them for the first time, but being able to help people maybe having difficulty but want a baby? It’s incredibly special.”
The same week of a first trimester obstetrics appointment in December, she felt a lump near her right armpit and breast. With all the hormonal changes occurring, feeling a lump during pregnancy is not uncommon. But Musgrove said, “Thank God I have a great OB” in Dr. Kelly McGuire, who recommended further examination.
After a Christmas Eve biopsy was performed by Dr. Daniel Dickman, Musgrove received a MyChart notification on Jan. 2.
“I was like 97% prepared that it would be benign, but I couldn’t find that word,” she said. “I saw things like ‘carcinoma’ and ‘HER2,’ which I had just seen a commercial mentioning, then it clicked — I had breast cancer. I admit, I started freaking out, just yelled out to my husband, ‘I need you!’ and he hung up his work call immediately.”
Musgrove was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer, which makes up approximately 15-20% of cases. That evening, an extremely difficult phone call had to be made to tell the surrogate parents the news. It was so hard for Musgrove, she found it difficult to speak without tears, so her husband Terry helped inform them.
This content is sourced from
St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
