A BREAST cancer survivor has given birth to a miracle baby after being told she might never have children.

Susie Coleman, aged 34, of Warndon Villages, Worcester, has given birth to a beautiful baby boy, Lucas John Coleman, at the city’s Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

She had previously been told by doctors that chemotherapy might have damaged her fertility so much that she would never conceive, even with help.

Mrs Coleman, who was one of the original calendar girls for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign – and has been one of the charity’s most enthusiastic patrons – said she had not expected to get pregnant, and was even more surprised when she conceived naturally.

She had three intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles at the Priory Hospital in Birmingham, which is similar to IVF but CONTINUED FROM FRONT involves injecting a single sperm directly into an egg in order to fertilise it. But, in the end, she did not need them, giving birth to 8lbs 11.5oz Lucas at 4.59am on June 11 at Worcester without treatment after 16 hours spent in labour.

Mrs Coleman’s was the pretty face that launched the campaign on the front page of the Worcester News on September 30, 2009. She became one of the faces of the campaign to create a one-stop shop for breast patients at 220 Newtown Road in Worcester, next to the hospital.

Mrs Coleman, a PE teacher at Ridgeway Middle School in Astwood Bank, Redditch, said: “We had fertility problems because of the treatment with the chemotherapy having a detrimental effect on my fertility.

“To give birth to Lucas is an absolute miracle. I was very, very broody.

“You think, ‘Can I see myself without children?’ The answer was ‘no’.

“I was devastated when I was told I may not be able to have children.

“You complete the test and see it’s positive. I was shocked. With the chemo, it attacks all the cells in your body.

“Women are born with all the eggs they will ever need. My ovarian reserves were really low and the chances to conceive naturally were slim. I was near to having no eggs left at all. You get to the point where you don’t think about it anymore. That’s when it happened and it was completely natural. I took him into school the other day and the children adore him. He has a little fan club. My husband is delighted. It was against all the odds.”

Mrs Coleman was just 26 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer after she discovered a lump in her breast while she was on holiday in Valencia, Spain. At first, she thought it was just a cyst. She was referred to specialists at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in September 2004 and was told she had breast cancer.

She told the Worcester News at the time how her world fell apart but also said: “I’m not going to let this thing beat me.”

She had a lumpectomy in December 2004 and also had lymph nodes removed from her arm to reduce the risk of the cancer spreading.

She married her partner at a service in Droitwich on August 12, 2005, just four weeks after finishing chemo.

She had to wear a wig because her hair had fallen out because of the chemo.

Your Worcester News continues to support the £1.8 million campaign which is now at the halfway stage.

The new unit will provide care in less cramped and less clinical conditions with a far greater emphasis on safeguarding the privacy and dignity of patients.

Campaign leaders hope that the unit will open in 2015.