My common breastfeeding problem was actually stage 4 cancer - a week before giving birth I was given six months to live

A Georgia mother was revealed her astonishing rollercoaster cancer journey - which saw her diagnosed with terminal cancer days before giving birth, and declared 'miraculously' cancer free six months later.

Despite initially being given six months to live, Lindsey Parr Gritton, 31, received the all clear after just three months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy infusions.

Now, two years later, scans still show no signs of disease.

'My doctor is still completely shocked that I'm still in remission,' she said. 'It's just a miracle.' 

Mrs Gritton was just 29 years old and 36 weeks pregnant with her second child when she went to her OBGYN for a routine checkup. 

For several months, Mrs Gritton had suffered a burning pain in her breast, along with a small lump and swollen lymph nodes near her armpit.

However, doctors thought it was just mastitis, inflammation of the breast tissue that could be caused by a clogged milk duct or bacteria. 

Mrs Gritton insisted on an ultrasound of the lump, which came back as 'highly suspected of cancer.' Further tests revealed stage four breast cancer, which had spread to her liver.

Within a week Mrs Gritton, now 31, was induced to speed up the birth of her baby - and days after the birth, she began chemotherapy. 

'The results were terrifying and gut wrenching,' Mrs Gritton said in a recent talk. 'Suddenly I was labeled as a stage four cancer patient and given a prognosis of six short months to live.'

'How was I supposed to raise a newborn and a toddler and go through six months of chemo all at the same time? And how was I supposed to explain to my two-year-old that Mommy had to go to Heaven soon?' 

Mrs Gritton is just one of many young Americans diagnosed with cancer, with rates in under-50s skyrocketing by 30 percent in just 20 years. 

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in both the US and the world. 

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates there will be more than 300,000 new cases this year, along with 43,700 deaths. 

Death rates have plummeted 43 percent between 1989 and 2020, after successful public health awareness campaigns, better screening and new drugs.

And nine in 10 patients are expected to survive after five years. However, once the cancer metastasizes or spreads, the survival rate drops to 31 percent, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Mrs Gritton received infusions of a combination of three different chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs every three weeks. 

During this time, she 'enjoyed every moment even more because I thought I was with limited time,' she told People. 

''I was taking in every second, trying to soak up everything. I made a scrapbook, I wrote letters to my kids, I made videos, everything. I was trying to do everything I could.' 

About three months after starting treatment, scans showed that Mrs Gritton's tumors were shrinking. After six months, 'everything was gone,' and she had no evidence of disease. 

'We were so happy after we found out there was no cancer in my body,' she said. 'We couldn't, honestly, no one could believe it. It was really crazy and surreal.' 

Mrs Gritton then underwent a lumpectomy, which is meant to remove cancer and surrounding tissue. Unlike a mastectomy, patients do not lose the entire breast. 

Mrs Gritton now has no cancer cells remaining and undergoes immunotherapy every six months to keep the disease from returning. The mother-of-two also just celebrated her 31st birthday this month, which she never thought she would see. 

'It's really surreal because I just didn't think I'd be here,' she said. 'Every moment is just incredible.'  

Mrs Gritton is also working to raise awareness of breast cancer, especially as cancer rates increase in young people. 

Though the average age of diagnosis in the US is 62, recent research shows that rates among women ages 20 to 49 has slowly increased. 

Experts are still working to unravel the cause, though the rise has largely been blamed on western diets and sedentary lifestyles.

Additionally, researchers at Washington University in St Louis have found that generations with higher cancer rates have cells and tissues in their bodies that have aged faster. 

In other words, people born after 1965 - aged 59 or younger - may be biologically older than their chronological age. 

'Everyone thinks breast cancer happens after the age of 40. You don't really think about it happening in your 20s,' Mrs Gritton said. 

In her recent talk, she said: 'I don't even take five minutes for granted.'