A pregnant woman and her baby survived after doctors found a tumor the size of a grapefruit

A Chicago woman was weeks away from giving birth when a persistent cough led to a shocking medical discovery.

MaKenna Lauterbach, then 26 years old, developed a severe cough in the last three months of her pregnancy.

“They would be so strong that I would have gas and nausea until I vomited,” she told Fox News Digital.

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Lauterbach, who lives on a farm in Washburn, Illinois, also started noticing shortness of breath while tending to her horses and goats.

“I give the horses hay every morning and I noticed that I was short of breath from a dry cough,” he said. “My body felt as if I just ran two kilometers, when, in fact, I only walked to the barn and back.”

Other doctors dismissed Lauterbach's symptoms, he said, telling her repeatedly, “It's because you're pregnant.”

However, when the coughing finally led to vomiting, doctors examined him and found a large tumor, the size of a grapefruit, in the center of his chest and right lung, which had completely blocked the blood vessel to his right lung.

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“It is very rare to see this type of tumor invade the major blood vessels of the heart,” said Chris Mehta, MD – a cardiac surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute who specializes in complex heart reconstruction – in a press release.

“It is rare to see this type of tumor invade the major blood vessels of the heart.”

“We might see something like this once every few years.”

The tumor had put Lauterbach – and her baby – into respiratory distress.

'In real trouble'

Lauterbach was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where a large medical team was waiting for him.

“MaKenna was really in trouble, and we had to act quickly — it wasn't something that could wait until Monday morning,” Lynn Yee, MD, a maternal obstetrician specialist at Northwestern Medicine, said in the release.

Although he was born three weeks early, little Colter is a thriving, happy baby boy today. “I personally am still recovering, emotionally and physically,” Lauterbach said. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“When you're pregnant with a full-term baby, your lungs are already not fully functioning, and if you add a large tumor on top of it, you're at risk of respiratory disease and cardiac arrest.”

The baby was not tolerating the contractions well and Lauterbach's blood pressure was dropping.

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The team performed an emergency caesarean section – and on Easter Sunday, a healthy baby boy, Colten, was born.

'Stories of Blindness'

After giving birth, it was time to deal with the tumor.

“The tumor was sitting on top of MaKenna's heart and had spread to the right lung, affecting all three lobes and the main trunk of the pulmonary artery,” said Kalvin Lung, MD, a thoracic surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, in a release.

Doctors performed a biopsy and discovered that Lauterbach had stage 3 melanoma.

The Lauterbach family lives on a farm in Washburn, Illinois. MaKenna Lauterbach first experienced severe coughing and shortness of breath while caring for horses and goats. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

Doctors believe he may have had melanoma on his skin, and that “one or two cells escaped” and started growing inside his body.

“It was really blind news,” Lauterbach told Fox News Digital. “When I first got the diagnosis, I went through a lot of different emotions.”

“I was saddened by the birth plan I had spent months preparing, when I was faced with the news of my unexpected diagnosis.”

After feeling relieved to have the answer, she said she felt upset that her symptoms had been dismissed early. Then there is the fear of cancer itself.

“Due to the tumor, the delivery happened quickly. I was crying about the birth plan that I had spent months preparing, and I was also faced with the news of my unexpected discovery,” she said.

“My condition was critical, and while my clinical team was preparing my cancer treatment plan, it was comforting to know that the NICU nurses [at Northwestern] they took amazing care of our son.”

Taking life-saving action

The Northwestern team recommended that Lauterbach undergo three rounds of immunotherapy before surgery, which helped shrink his tumor by 30%.

Dr. Lung and Dr. Mehta removed Lauterbach's entire right lung, parts of the main pulmonary artery and his lymph nodes.

The Lauterbach family is pictured, from left to right, Dr. Kalvin Lung, registered nurse Mary Schuessler and Dr. Lynn Yee. (Northwestern Medicine)

“The surgery was risky compared to other cancer surgeries because of the need for cardiopulmonary bypass, and the need to repair the main artery to both lungs, but it was done under very safe conditions with well-proven techniques,” said Dr. Lung. Fox News Digital.

“We were worried that no matter how much surgery we did, we wouldn't be able to completely remove the tumor,” he continued.

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If the tumor had grown slightly and entered the main arteries to the lungs, or if it had involved the heart, the outcome would have been different.

But the surgery was a success, and Lauterbach's latest scan showed no evidence of metastatic melanoma.

Colter Lauterbach had his picture taken with Santa before his first Christmas. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“His result was very good,” said Dr. Lung told Fox News Digital. “He has recovered almost completely from the operation, and his main problem is shortness of breath, which is a result of only having one lung.”

“Regarding the prognosis of the cancer, we expect it to be very good, as all the tumors are responding to the immunotherapy treatment he received.”

'The new normal'

Today, even though he was born three weeks early, little Colter Lauterbach is still a thriving, happy baby boy.

“I personally am still recovering, emotionally and physically,” said MaKenna Lauterbach. “My lung capacity is approaching a 'new normal' for me and I'm finally starting to get back to some sort of normal.”

“There are days when bad and unknown memories haunt my thoughts.”

Looking ahead, Lauterbach will continue immunotherapy for one year, and doctors will continue to monitor CT scans to make sure the cancer does not return.

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His cancer is currently considered “stable,” doctors said, meaning no new tumors have appeared.

The new mother, who turned 27 in October, said she was looking forward to her son's first Christmas on the farm.

McKenna and Parker Lauterbach are pictured with their son, Colter, after his emergency cesarean delivery. (MaKenna Lauterbach)

“Emotionally, I try my best not to let the truth weigh me down, but there are days when bad memories and things I don't know haunt me,” she said.

“Colter and my amazing husband, Parker, are what gave me the strength to get through it all.”

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For other women, Lauterbach stressed the importance of “knowing your body.”

He advises, “If you know something is wrong, don't take 'I don't know' for an answer. Find someone who will take your concerns seriously and be willing to do more testing if it happens, instead of missing something life-threatening.”