Hi there,
I’m 32 and was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on Monday - having dealt with my mothers Breast Cancer all my life i feel i’m fairly calm about the whole thing - so far anyway. The one thing i wasn’t prepared for was the prospect of having to freeze my eggs before having Chemo. Has anyone else had to do this? I have my first appointment in a week and i must say it’s the thing that is freaking me out the most! Any advice / information would be greatly appreciated!!
Hi Robyn,
Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care discussion forums, you’ve come to the right place for some good support as your fellow forum users have a wealth of information and experience between them.
While you are waiting for replies I have put for you below links to some of BCC’s publications which you may find helpful.
Younger women with BC
breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/80/
Fertility issues:
breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/84/
Standards of care:
breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/87/
Also, could I suggest that you give the helpline here a ring and have a chat with one of the nurses, they’ll be only too happy to talk to you about having your eggs frozen and anything else that may be concerning you. Calls to the helpline are free, 0808 800 6000 lines open Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 9-2.
Hope this helps. Take care,
Jo, Facilitator
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Hi
i was diagnosed in December and had a lumpectomy and Mastectomy and currently having chemo, prior to the chemo in april i went through ivf for freezing embyro’s apparently they dont freeze eggs it has to be fertilised with the sperm, the whole process took less than a month and i went to st marys in manchester and they were fantastic, basically from the start of your period you have a drug to inject every day and then when the level is correct you have to self inject more drugs and then after numerous scans its a simple procedure to get the egg and then fertilise and freeze, the day that i had the procedure was on my 40th birthday and i have 2 frozen but have heard mixed reports on when i can use them from 2-5 years they are frozen for years but need to clarify with oncologist when it is ‘safe’ to go ahead and even when i do the chances of success are low.
as i said the procedure is simple its just a pain self injecting and then going to the hospital loads of times for blood tests and scans, good luck with it all and i hope you have a supportive partner!
if you have hormone positive BC they may offer you zoladex injections as part of your treatment and this has the side effect of switching off your ovaries and can help protect them during chemo… although this isnt as effective as freezing embryos it maybe a more acceptable alternative.
you may also find that the chemo doesnt affect your fertility at all… but they cannot tell if this would happen to you or not… over 35 you have a higher chance of becoming menopausal but some women under 35 do too… like some women in the late 40s get their periods back after chemo.
i wanted to have another baby and had been to see my consultant 18 months prior to chemo about stopping tamoxifen for 1st BC but when i was diagnosed the second time my fertility was pretty much pushed by the way side… when i said does that mean no more babies tehy just said yes…i was 40 at the time but no mention of freezing embryos… after chemo i spoke to my BCN and she said they prob didnt say anything because id have to pay for it at my age… and i was furious as it was my decision whether i wanted to pay for it and not theirs… too late by that time though and since then have found out im a gene carrier so with hindsight it may have put me in a very difficult position to decide whether to go ahead with implantation after i knew that.
Lulu x