Pregnant cancer survivors meet for the first time, celebrate their medical successes

Two women who formed a tight bond over cancer met for the first time in person on Monday.

It happened at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where both pregnant moms got their cancer diagnosis.

But both women have since prevailed and now they are celebrating their medical successes.

Raquel Lopez had just finished her last round of chemo when the staff at Advocate Christ Medical Center celebrated with a surprise visitor.

For months, Lopez had been chatting on Facebook with Lisa Wieland about their shared journey. This was their first meeting in person.

"I just sent her a message this morning [that] your words have meant so much for me the past year because it's such a unique experience. And to have someone so local share the exact same thing with you,” said Lopez.

Both women were months into their pregnancies when they were diagnosed with colon cancer. Wieland in 2014 and Lopez last year.

"I came in for what I thought was a routine scan for something else. And right away things changed within a couple of hours,” Lopez said.

Doctors say it's extremely rare -- only once in every 13,000 pregnancies.

Oncologist Amar Hamad treated both women and says giving chemo to a pregnant mom carries significant risks.

"When you do something like this you have to plan it correctly in a way that you don't have any side effects on the baby when the baby is born,” Dr. Hamad said.

"As soon as I saw her story I was 'oh my gosh, I have to reach out to her!" Wieland said.

Wieland contacted Lopez through Facebook and began counseling her on giving birth while battling cancer.

"You can get treatment. You seek out the right people who want to listen to you and want to help you. And you can do it and you can have very healthy babies,” Wieland said.

Wieland's daughter Sydney is now two and a half years old and enjoying the spotlight.

Lopez gave birth to a son -- now eight months old -- with an appropriate name.

"Maximus Crow. The crow after his spirit animal. Which is...the crow lives and thrives in a toxic environment, which is what he did,” Lopez said.

Both women also love the same baseball team and the hospital gave them tickets so they can spend a day this summer at Wrigley talking about their shared miracles.