New York Mother Dies of Rare Placental Cancer Two Months After Giving Birth

26-year-old Jenna Hinman passed away this week after a two-month battle with a rare placental cancer. She had been on life support since March 6 in a medically induced coma, and sadly left behind her twin daughters who were born on March 3.

Hinman had to undergo an emergency C-section to deliver premature twin daughters, who weighed 2 pounds 9 ounces and 3 pounds 6 ounces. Following the C-section, Hinman's doctors discovered she was battling stage 3 choriocarcinoma, which is a quick-growing form of cancer that develops in the uterus.

It's actually a miracle that her children survived because choriocarcinoma begins when abnormal cells form in the tissue that would normally become the placenta - the organ that develops during pregnancy to feed the fetus. After spending six weeks in Walter R.G. Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the twins were released and have been completely healthy.

Following the emergency C-section, Hinman was placed in a medically induced coma because the choriocarcinoma filled her lungs with tumors. The lungs and brain are the two other common areas where the choriocarcinoma can spread. This form of cancer is often curable, but its spread did not enable the doctors to nix it completely. Choriocarcinoma affects only about 2 to 7 of every 100,000 pregnancies in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.

Jenna's two daughters, Kinleigh and Azlynn, are being taken care of by her grandparents. Her husband, U.S. Army Sergeant Brandon Hinman, can only be with the children as much as his job dictates. He and Jenna had difficulty conceiving because he was constantly in between deployments to Europe and Afghanistan. When Jenna finally conceived, Brandon was able to stay back and be with her.

"She's probably the most kind-hearted person I ever met," said Brandon, in this ABC News article. "She would go out of her way for anyone, give them the shirt off her back."

The Prayers for Jenna Facebook page has over 290,000 likes. Her friends and family have been updating the page and many people are responding to their posts to give their condolences.