A new mum shared the touching moment she told family and friends she is cancer free - after battling the disease while pregnant.

Zoe Plastiras, 25, has battled lymphoma since December 2022 - after experiencing weight loss, night sweats and itchy skin.

She was 32 weeks pregnant with her first child when she woke up struggling to breathe in September 2022.

Zoe called 111 and was told to go to A&E where she had a chest x-ray and an MRI scan.

At 32 weeks, doctors discovered a 12cm tumour in Zoe's chest, but were unable to discover whether it was cancerous or not until she gave birth.

Her daughter, Ophelia, now two, was born at 37 weeks on October 4, 2022, and in December that year, Zoe underwent a biopsy which revealed she had lymphoma -

a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

After her diagnosis, Zoe underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy and CAT T-cell therapy - treatment in which a patient's T cells are changed in the laboratory to attack cancer cells.

On October 16, 2024, Zoe got the news she had been hoping for and was told she is cancer free.

She broke the news to her family and friends via Facetime.

Zoe, a beautician, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said: "It was an incredible moment - I was in tears."

"It was the most amazing thing I will ever hear in my life."

"Growing up you think getting pregnant or getting married are the best things to happen to you but nothing will top me hearing that I am cancer-free."

"I got my daughter a t-shirt that said 'my mum beat cancer' and showed that to the camera."

"My friends and family were so excited - it was an emotional moment."

"I feel like I have started a new life and Christmas is going to be amazing."

In February 2022, Zoe and her partner, Joe Bird, 28, a heating engineer, found out they were expecting their first child.

Zoe said they were "so happy" about the news and felt able to relax."

The pregnancy was "normal" until Zoe woke up one morning struggling to breathe so went to the hospital."

Zoe said: "I was 32 weeks pregnant, I woke up struggling to breathe so my partner said we should go to hospital."

"They tested my heart, I had bloods and an MRI. They told me I had a tumour but said they were happy for my pregnancy to continue as normal."

"When they told me it was a tumour they used the word 'mass' but it didn't correlate."

"I asked if they were testing me for cancer and I was so shocked as I had no symptoms."

Zoe said she was told that she had a 1 per cent chance of being diagnosed with a lymphoma because she wasn't presenting with any typical symptoms - including fatigue, night sweats and unexplained weight loss.

Her pregnancy carried on as normal and baby Ophelia, now two, was born via emergency c-section on October 4, 2022, at 6.54am, weighing 6lbs 3oz.

Zoe said: "I went into labour but I was not in pain."

"My waters were leaking for three days and they said they needed to do something about me."

"Because I had been leaking for so long doctors said it would be dangerous for me to give birth and we had an emergency c-section."

On November 8, 2022, a month after giving birth, Zoe had two needle biopsies that were unsuccessful as they were unable to retrieve a sample.

A few weeks later, on December 19, Zoe went for another biopsy and three days later was told she had a lymphoma.

Zoe said: "Once Ophelia was out I lost weight very quickly, I thought it was weird."

"It is like my pregnancy masked the symptoms, once Ophelia was out it was like the cancer took over."

"I went from being 11 stone with my pregnancy weight to being 9st 2lbs - the weight fell off me."

Zoe spent Christmas in "limbo" after being told that a consultant would call her after the holidays to discuss treatment options."

She said: "I got the diagnosis and made sure I enjoyed myself, as a cancer patient you're always thinking 'what if this is my last Christmas?'."

"I had this awful wait, it was horrible, it was one of the worst times of my life - they called me on January 2."

Zoe then had six rounds of chemotherapy which shrunk the tumour down from 12cm to 1cm.

She then went on to have radiotherapy and waited three months to see if the cancer had gone.

She said: "I thought I was going to be cancer free, I got the results after Ophelia's first"

birthday which said it had grown to 2.5cm.

"I was devastated, I couldn't believe it."

"In October 2023, they started testing me again and I got put on a trial where I had inpatient chemotherapy."

"I would stay in hospital for four days and had one in January, February and March."

In July 2024, Zoe started CAR T-cell therapy and spent two weeks in hospital.

After the treatment finished, a PET scan showed that the cancer responded well to the treatment.

She said: "I had no major side effects which was good."

"Some people have no side effects and some people will end up in ICU."

"I had flu-like symptoms and fatigue for four days out of the 14 days I was in hospital for."

Zoe then had another scan three months after she finished therapy and at 4pm on October 16, 2024, she found out she was cancer free.

Zoe said: "I started making my way over to my mm's house and then I went to tell my dad."

"I then FaceTimed all my close family and friends - it was an amazing feeling."

"For the past two years, we haven't had any Christmas decorations in the house as I haven't felt like celebrating."

"This year we are going all out and I have already started buying decorations."

Zoe wants to raise awareness for lymphoma through her social media channels @zoeplastiras on TikTok and Instagram @lymphomawarenesszoe