London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Doctors sometimes suggest to women who become pregnant while dealing with cancer that they should have an abortion to save their own life. However, in the case of a British woman, her twin unborn children saved her life when they knocked loose a tumor that had been developing on her cervix.

Unbeknown to 35-year-old Michelle Stepney, a tumor had been developing insider her and she headed to the hospital thinking she may have had a miscarriage.

Doctors diagnosed her with life-threatening cervical cancer and suggested she have an abortion on her twin babies to be able to have chemotherapy, according to the London Daily Mail.

Stepney declined and physicians agreed to give her lower doses of chemotherapy with the hope of stopping the cancer during the pregnancy, the newspaper said.

Ironically, the babies ultimately saved their mother's life as their constant kicking dislodged the developing tumor.

"I couldn't believe it when the doctors told me that the babies had dislodged the tumor," she told the newspaper. "I'd felt them kicking, but I didn't realize just how important their kicking would turn out to be."

"I owe my life to my girls, and that's why I could have never agreed with a termination," Stepney said. "If I hadn't been pregnant with the twins, the cancer may not have been discovered until it was too late."

"I knew I could have an operation straight away and it would cure me of the cancer, but that would mean getting rid of my babies and I couldn't do that," Stepney added.

Since then, Michelle and her husband Scott have given birth to the girls, Alice and Harriet.

The newspaper said the babies were delivered by Caesarian section at 33 weeks into the pregnancy in December 2006.

Other than having no hair because of the chemo, the babies were healthy and in fine condition.

"When I heard them both let out a cry it was the best sound in the world," mom told the newspaper.

Stepney is now free from cancer and the babies just celebrated their first birthday and are happy and healthy.