BOSTON -- A Boston woman and her family endured a rollercoaster of emotions after finding out she had terminal cancer shortly after she discovered she was pregnant.

"For me, giving birth to this baby means a lot because despite struggling with death I am giving him life," Trinidad said, explaining her determination to survive long enough to meet her child. She asked that her last name not be used in this story.

Last fall, shortly after she learned she was pregnant, Trinidad went to the doctor because she was having difficulty breathing. She suspected doctors would tell her she had asthma, but instead she learned cancer had spread throughout her body, including her lungs.

Doctors told her she would live only a few months, and advised her to terminate the pregnancy to focus on cancer treatment. But Trinidad refused, and since November has been receiving comprehensive medical care at Boston Medical Center.

At her request, oncologists administered lower-than-usual doses of chemotherapy, with the goal of keeping her cancer at bay until she delivered her child.

"She has done much better, I think, than any of us really expected," said Elisabeth Woodhams, a second-year OB-GYN resident at BMC.

Dr. Jodi Abbott, Trinidad's OB-GYN, said, "I am absolutely convinced that she wouldn't be alive right now if she hadn't have the strength of will because she wants to deliver this healthy baby."

After spending five months at BMC, Trinidad delivered a healthy baby boy via Caesarean section.

"Both of us survived a lot of risk and that is very meaningful to me," she said.

The doctors, nurses, translators and other hospital employees who have cared for her since November were equally moved by her delivery.

Labor and delivery nurse Doris Buford, who usually cares for new mothers for only a few days, appreciated the opportunity to spend more time with Trinidad and learn more about her life.

"I am not tired of birth by any means," Buford said, but "I suspect that I will see birth with some fresh eyes."

During her months at Boston Medical Center, Trinidad recorded an audio diary, memorializing her hopes and dreams, that her son will be able to listen to for years to come.

"I want my baby to know that I love him more than my own life and that's the reason why I have decided for him to be born."