A mum who terminated her pregnancy after being diagnosed with cervical cancer has welcomed a baby boy with her best friend offered as her surrogate.
Lorna Cattle, 35, from Chichester, Sussex, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in November 2016.
She then had to make the heartbreaking decision to terminate her pregnancy.
Lorna, who works in HR, was given the all-clear in November 2017 after months of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and a hysterectomy.
She and her husband Dan, 40, then started to look into fertility treatments when her best friend Steph Stretton, 36, offered to be their surrogate.
Steph became pregnant following the transfer of an embryo in February 2021 and gave birth to Joshua a month early in September 2021.
Lorna said: "When I was diagnosed, I was six to eight weeks pregnant and the first thing we had to decide was whether it was a viable pregnancy which it wasn't.
"We had got married in the summer and starting a family was always the plan so this was an awful decision for us to have to make but we were told if I continued, neither I nor the baby would survive.
"I'm a very optimistic person and never gave up hope on being a mum.
"2019 was when we first went to visit fertility doctors and spoke about our options and in 2020, Steph came forward and said she would be our surrogate which I couldn't have been more grateful for.
"There are no words to explain the gratitude and awe I have for her.
"Being a mum is surreal; Joshua is amazing and I feel extremely fortunate and grateful to have him in my life."
Lorna and Dan planned on starting a family in 2017, a year after they got married in Italy.
However, Lorna's cancer diagnosis changed everything, leaving the couple to focus on her health.
The couple still wanted to be parents "one way or another".
Lorna added: "When I was going through treatment, I was just focusing on getting better and didn't want to worry about anything else so our plans of being parents were put on hold whilst I recovered.
"I had an ovarian transposition and lost my cervix meaning there was no chance I would be able to carry a child.
"But I always knew we would have a family one way or another, whether that was through adopting or surrogacy.
"We froze the embryos in December 2020 and did our first transfer in February 2021.
"I never expected a friend to come forward and offer to do that for us.
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"It was a stressful lead up to the birth as Stephanie developed preeclampsia, but he came out perfect."
Lorna still plans on having her friend Steph in Joshua's life.
Joshua, who weighed five pounds at birth, has just turned 16-weeks-old and now weighs 14 pounds.
Lorna said: "Steph lives in Cheshire so she's far away from us but she's still one of my closest friends and we see her when we can.
"I would highly encourage all women to go for their annual smear tests and push for answers if something doesn't feel right.
"I'd rather five minutes of embarrassment than months of treatment."
