Jen Arnold, star of TLC's "Little Couple" revealed that her uterine cancer was caused by a non-viable pregnancy and has spread to her lungs. The 39-year-old reality star broke the news last week that she was diagnosed with stage 3 choriocarcinoma, or cancer of the uterus.
In the latest issue of People magazine, Arnold opened up about her health problems. She told the magazine that she discovered she was pregnant in August but when she went for an ultrasound the baby didn't have a heartbeat. The embryo was removed but cells were left behind sparking the aggressive cancer.
Arnold, who is a neonatologist, immediately began chemotherapy but the mass was not responsive and grew four times its normal size. Doctors also discovered tumors on her lungs indicating that the cancer had spread.
"There are moments I feel just terrible," she told People magazine. "I can't believe it's happening. Other times, I feel like this is just a bump in the road."
Because of Arnold's size - she has dwarfism caused by a genetic condition - doctors have struggled to find the right amount of chemo to give her but feel her prognosis looks promising. Recently Arnold underwent a hysterectomy, something doctors said was a last resort but a necessary step, the Daily Mail reports.
"We wanted to avoid surgery in her case because of her shortened airway and the difficult she has had in the past with surgeries," Dr. Concepcion R. Diaz-Arrastia from Baylor College of Medicine said. "But we felt we had no choice. The disease was not responding to chemotherapy. We had to do this in order to save her life."
According to People, her battle with cancer will be shared on future episodes of the reality show. Arnold and her husband, Bill Klein, will also air the welcoming of their new daughter Zoey, 2, who was adopted from India in October. Arnold and her husband already adopted another child, 3-year-old Will from China. Both children share the same genetic disorder as Arnold and Klein.
"The treatment is rough," Arnold said. "But I have a chance of being cured. I just have to push through it."
