Nermina Pieters-Mekic couldn't keep her unborn baby after being diagnosed with cancer aged 33

Nermina Pieters-Mekic has spoken out about the heartbreak of find out she ‘couldn’t keep’ her baby after being diagnosed with cancer.

Nermina, 33, who is married to West Bromwich Albion footballer Erik, 35, was told earlier this year that a lump in her left breast was cancerous.

At the time, the mum-of-one said: “And just like that my life changed forever. A few months ago I felt a lump in my left breast and I decided to see a GP who didn’t seem overly concerned.

“After some convincing from my mum I decided to investigate it further as the lump was getting sore and growing. I’m so grateful that I did because on the July 10th I got diagnosed with an early stage aggressive breast cancer.

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“I will never be able to describe how I felt that day and the days after that. My heart was broken, I was scared and I had so many questions... I’m healthy and fit so how is this possible for someone of my age?”

However, little did fans know that Nermina was going through another tragedy at the same time.

Speaking to OK!, she explained how she’d been in the very early stages of pregnancy when her cancer was confirmed, and that she and Erik were thrown into an ‘unthinkable’ position after realising they would be unable to carry on with the process.

“I was pregnant when I found out I had cancer, it broke my heart we couldn’t keep the baby - nobody should ever find themselves in that unthinkable position,” she said.

Nermina, who joined the Real Housewives of Cheshire back in 2017, continued: “One night when I couldn’t sleep I sat in Alaya’s nursery.

“I looked at her height chart on the wall, and thought, ‘What if I’m not here to witness this in a few years? What if I don’t see her grow up?’

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“They couldn’t do all the checks [cancer tests] because I was pregnant so I kept thinking, ‘I’ll never forgive myself for not seeing Alaya grow up.’”

Nermina was diagnosed with cancer 10 days after her 33rd birthday, and now says she wants to 'open people's eyes'.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought this would happen to me," she added.

"I never get ill, I eat a good diet, I exercise with my horses, I barely drink, I’m very healthy. But cancer doesn’t discriminate. One in seven women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, and a lot of those will be young women.

“It’s easy to think ‘it won’t happen to me’, but it can happen to anyone - I’m proof of that. I need women to check themselves, and be checked.”

To find out more about breast cancer in women, including the symptoms to look out for, head to the NHS website.