Brisbane mum Tara Bishop thought the dramatic roadside birth of her premature twins was as eventful as life could get. But then she got the most devastating news, just days later.

The 33-year-old’s twins Evelyn and Harvey arrived two months early, in an ambulance on the side of the Pacific Motorway, as her partner Hayden followed behind.

“I thought the ambulance stopped on the highway because Tara, who has a history of epilepsy, was having a seizure. But that wasn’t the case,” Hayden said. “I was following the ambulance in my car and noticed they had pulled over, so I ran to find out what happened.”

The twins were admitted to the Mater Mothers’ Hospital’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit, where they fought for their lives, struggling to breathe independently. Just 11 days later, Tara and Hayden received the news that would only add to their worries.

Doctor’s revealed Tara had endometrial cancer, detected by a routine pathology test on her placenta.

“What was supposed to be a happy time of our lives very quickly turned into an emotional rollercoaster,” Tara said.

“I was in a state of shock, dealing with the twins coming so early and then the diagnosis.

“You can have cancer of the uterus without any symptoms and I had no reason to suspect anything was wrong. When I look at my babies today I believe they are my little lifesavers.”

The couple are sharing their story, to raise awareness during Uterine Cancer Awareness Month.

Endometrial cancer, in the uterus lining, is the most common gynaecological cancer, and claims the lives of around 550 Australian women a year.

“It is extremely rare for a patient to be diagnosed with this type of cancer during pregnancy,” said Dr Naven Chetty, a gynaecological oncologist at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane and Mater Hospital Brisbane.

“Tara’s cancer was low-grade and she was in a rare age group to be presenting with endometrial cancer, and to present immediately post-partum is very unusual.”

Tara underwent a hysterectomy and her fallopian tubes were removed. She’s now cancer-free.

Dr Chetty explained that endometrial cancer is slow-growing, and most patients are successfully treated. Anyone with the following symptoms is urged to see their doctor:

• any bleeding in post-menopausal women
• persistent or abnormal bleeding in younger women

Tara and Hayden’s twins are now almost two, with the family celebrating their life-saving births.

“Their 10-year-old big sister Skylar adores them,” Tara said. “At no point would you look at the twins and know they were born two months’ premature.

“But then you would look at me and have no idea I had endometrial cancer.”