New York Mom Refused Cancer Treatment to Protect Baby

For Elizabeth Joice, the life of her child was more important than her own.

She and husband Max decided to forgo cancer treatments to help Elizabeth's condition in order to protect their future baby girl.

Joice had battled through chemotherapy treatments in 2010 for a rare but malignant tumor. With news of her pregnancy, the couple was elated as doctors did not believe she could conceive.

However, their excitement soon turned to despair one month in. Elizabeth's cancer had returned. Although tumors in her back had been successfully removed, doctors needed to perform a full-body MRI scan in order to determine if the cancer had metastasized to other areas.

The MRI's contrast dyes pose a potential danger to the developing fetus, which could even end the pregnancy. Therefore, she did not receive the test in order to protect her child's future.

"We felt that if we terminated this pregnancy and did these scans, if it turned out that there was no evidence of this disease after the scans, then we would have possibly given up our only chance at having a child naturally and would have done it for nothing," Max said, via KSL.com.

Though the child was due in March, doctors decided to do an early caesarean section as her cancer had begun to spread. Baby Lily was born Jan. 23., yet the cancer had metastasized into Elizabeth's heart, right lung and abdomen. The first night with her baby would be the only she ever had, according to ABC News. She died on March 9.

An upcoming documentary directed by Christopher Henze titled "40 Weeks" will depict Elizabeth's tale of selfless-love.

To learn more about the upcoming documentary, check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.