SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (CBS58) – This weekend, we're celebrating Mother's day. But one Wisconsin mom shares a unique story of how childbirth led to a cancer diagnosis. Being a new mom is a feat in and of itself, but for Lydia Dutcher, she faced even more challenges. Just a few days after her baby was born, she found out she had cancer.

“I had a great pregnancy. Theo was healthy, I was healthy, we didn't know anything was wrong” shared Dutcher. Last February, Dutcher became a new mom. But as she was giving birth, she faced a slight complication, said Dr. Danielle Hartwig, Family Medicine Physician at UW Health. “Lydia didn’t fully dilate; she ended up having a c-section, and because of the infection in her uterus, her placenta got sent to pathology, which is part of routine” according to Dr. Hartwig.

Lydia went home with her baby boy Theo, not even knowing her placenta was being tested. That was, until she got a call a few days later from her doctor with news no one wants to hear: “it’s kind of just crazy hearing those words that you have cancer, especially a rare cancer, not knowing what’s going to happen, or really finding anything about it.”

The cancer is choriocarcinoma, “a fast-growing tumor that can develop from the cells that help embryos attach to the uterus, forming the placenta.”

It “could’ve spelled disaster” said Dr. Lisa Barroilhet, Gynecologic Oncologist at UW Health | Carbone Center. “Basically, this totally healthy human who just had a beautiful healthy son just had a cancer diagnosis from the placenta being sent to our pathologists,” she continued.

While Lydia was figuring out what life means as a new mom, she had to do so while receiving 10 weeks of chemotherapy, “it was terrifying, but we made it through.”

On this mother's day weekend, Lydia celebrates being cancer-free, with a new outlook on life. “I think I probably would’ve taken some of it for granted had I not had cancer and been given that perspective. Showing me what really matters in life, the little moments, are things I have to soak up and remember what I've been through and what it took to get here” she said.

Choriocarcinoma is very rare, impacting only about one in 100,000 pregnancies in the United States a year. The good news is, it's treatable. Lydia, as well as her baby, are happy and healthy.