We shared Indira's heartbreaking story in Woman magazine, That's Life magazine and on MailOnline because she wanted to raise awareness of the terrible disease, breast cancer.
When Indira was diagnosed with breast cancer her thoughts turned to motherhood. She’d always wanted children but was told that chemo might prevent her having them. So she and her husband Martyn, 38, made the decision straightaway to freeze some embryos.
After that, Indira had a mastectomy and reconstruction, before starting chemo. She was constantly sick and her hair fell out. But once it was over, Indira’s health improved.
At the age of 35, Indira had IVF and was thrilled to become a mother to a little girl, Thilini. A year later she was given the all clear.
Two years later, Indira had more IVF and fell pregnant again. But at 24 weeks, she began having severe stomach pains. She visited the hospital SEVEN times, only to keep being told it was muscular pain.
The pain got so bad that Indira constantly vomited and couldn’t keep food down. She lost THREE STONE during her pregnancy. It was only then that medics took her seriously and she was admitted to hospital for tests.
Tragically the results showed the cancer had returned - this time to her liver. And it was terminal. Indira thanked her unborn baby for helping detect the cancer and prayed he would survive - he was her very last embryo.
Doctors urged her to have a C-section straightaway - the type of cancer she had was oestrogen positive. Being pregnant was boosting the hormone meaning the cancer was becoming more aggressive with every day. She was a ticking timebomb and being pregnant was killing her. But Indira was resolute.
‘It’s too soon,’ she said. ‘I want the best possible chance for my baby.’
Indira had one session of chemotherapy and Thilini came to visit her mum in hospital.
'It makes me sad seeing you in bed all the time,' she said.
'Mummy's poorly,' she told her daughter.
Eventually, with the doctors pushing her to give birth, Indria agreed for her baby to be delivered at 34 weeks. Meeting their son Dilan was a silver lining for Indira and Martyn, and Thilini was head over heels for her brother, kissing him all over.
Two weeks later, Indira continued chemo.
‘I don’t think I’m going to beat this,’ she told Martyn.
‘You have to, for the kids,’ he begged.
But Indira was so adamant she was going to die that she wrote up a will and started looking at funeral costs.
Back at home she had her own little helper in Thilini. She helped bathe her brother, checked his nappies, and was always giving him cuddles.
Indira can’t bear to think about leaving her childen behind. But she knows that when the time comes, Martyn and Thilini, now three, will look after Dilan, six months.
Now Indira has finished chemo and is having hormonal treatment. She has told Martyn that when she dies, she wants him to find love again - with someone who loves her children too. She is writing a book of memoirs for the kids and making videos for them to watch when she’s gone.
She says: ‘When I die, I want Thilini and Dilan to know how much I loved them. For now, I make sure I tell them every single day.’
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