Embryo freezing before chemo

Hi, I am considering this, as I’m 37 with one child (we had hoped to have a second). But I’m not willing to take any risks as staying alive for my son for as long as possible is my number one priority.

Has anyone gone through this - and can tell me exactly what it’s like?

Would a month or two delay before chemo increase my risk of BC recurrance?

Does increasing activity in the ovaries make them more susceptible to damage from chemo (opposite effect of the Zoladex injection to shut them down and preserve them)?

And would a future pregnancy put me more at risk of BC again even though what I have currently is triple negative?

Hi,

While you’re waiting for your fellow forum users to reply to your post, here is a link to one of BCC’s publications that you may find useful called Fertility issues and breast cancer treatment. Hope it helps:

breastcancercare.org.uk/upload/pdf/BCC28_fertility_issues_09_web_pdf.pdf

Kind regards,
Kate, Facilitator

Hi there,
Sounds like you’re going through much of the same dilemmas I did just a month ago. My siutuation was almost exactly the same as yours - one baby, triple neg. Have a look at this topic discussion which I posted then - it might help a bit. breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/fertility-and-chemotherapy-advise-pleaseǃ-t22794.html
To be honest though the thing I found was that it is almost impossible to actually get a proper/solid view on things. There are so many questionmarks. My advice - get referred as quickly as possible to a specialist fertility centre - don’t know where you are based but either London or Birmingham seem most recommended - though I spoke to someone at Manchester. Am happy to pass on names/details if it’d help. Don’t wait for your PCT to do anything as it might end up being too late. Choice in the NHS means that you have a right to see aa specialist wherever you are so be pushy and get referred. You’ll almost certainly have to go private for eventual treatment though, since you already have one child, the PCT will be unlikely to fund you (I know, stalinist, isn’t it?).
In response to your specific questions, from what I have gathered:
Can’t comment on the freezing as decided against in the end, but by all accounts not a lot of fun. I decided I couldn’t face it having just had two surgeries and about to have chemo, but actually the chemo hasn’t been that bad so far (touch wood) so maybe I’d have been fine.
Re delay, I asked this over and over and couldn’t get a straight answer - i think they just don’t know. My oncologist said there was eveidence of chemo within three months of surgery being better, but that’s a bit arbitrary since it depends how far advanced you were at surgery so… Either way the main thing is move fast. By the time I’d tried to establish all the answers I could have done a cycle of IVF if I’d moved faster but instead I missed the boat. The other key issue has got to be your lymph node results - if these are clear I think it is less of a risk but if you have nodes that are affected then maybe best to just get on with chemo asap. The trouble is there is no way of knowing whether you are the one who needed it sooner rather than later. My husband decided for us really in the end, he pointed out that i’d regret it more if the cancer came back and i had delayed for chemo (even though the causality would always be unkown) if that risked my life with Mabel, than i would feel regret about maybe not having another baby. But really if i had just got the timing sorted i could have done both. So again, move fast.
Your third q is a good one that i hadn’t thought of - i’d guess logically it might, but maybe zoladex afterwards might negate that? The other thing is though that zoladex for this purpose is very much unproved and experimental (not the impression I was given by my oncologist incidentally).
The logical answer to your last query is no, though i have heard of some people having trip neg then recurring with a positive cancer so i guess there is always a questionmark.
Let me know if you have any other questions at all, as I have asked most and gathered a lot of (though often contradictory) advice.
Good luck with it all, and keep us posted.
Jess

Thanks Jess, I have had a look at your other discussion posts.

I am trying to get some answers from the BC nurses, but they are not answering my calls/emails yet!

Not sure what a PCT is? I have had private treatment so far thanks to my employer providing health insurance with PPP. However I’m not sure if they will pay for this treatment yet - fertility may be considered ‘non-essential’ I guess, especially as I already have a child. I’m not sure if I could afford to pay for it myself.

As for my cancer, it is grade 3, 1.7 x 1.3cm, triple neg, no nodes involved. I only had surgery a week ago, so it’s possible I have a few weeks of time (I don’t want to start chemo until my wounds have healed at least).

It is such a hard decision. One minute I think I’m just incredibly lucky to have ONE baby, some people cant have any. Perhaps it’s greedy to want two. The next minute I feel like I should take every chance to keep my options open - but ONLY if it doesn’t put me at increased risk. That’s the big question. Sorry to hear they wouldn’t give you an answer either!

Re Zoloxex injections, my oncologist thought it would only increase my chances of staying fertile by around 7%. As I am 37, and they advise to wait a couple of years after cancer to try for a baby due to the risk of BC re-occurence being highest in first 2 years, this would mean hoping for a natural pregnancy at 40+ which is pretty iffy anyway. So I don’t like this option. At least with embryo freezing it would be using 37yearold pre-chemo-frazzled eggs!

PS - Just found out my insurance won’t pay for this, and NHS unlikely because I already have one child. Does anyone have any idea how much the whole process costs privately?

HI Gardenbeetle

It’s likely to be in the region of between £3,000 and £5,000 for egg collection and freezing - there is also the ongoing cost of storage per year. I know that the fulls works for IVF i.e. for fertilization and implantation etc can cost anything from £5-£8k sometimes more.

xx

Thanks Ruby1,

I think I have the decision now - not to do it. (Though this isn’t so much because of the cost - could always take a loan). Have been reading like a maniac all day, and have learnt that triple negative BC has a much higher recurance rate than other BC. And if it’s going to happen, it’s much more likely to in the first 5 years following diagnosis apparently, whereas the pattern with other BC is different.

I’m not sure whether the prognosis ‘percentages’ they gave me at the hospital took into account I am triple neg, or whether they used a common formula for ALL breast cancers.

Leaving one baby without a mum scares me quite enough - I just can’t risk leaving two :frowning:

garden beetle pregnancy at age 40 is still 44% by the end of a year of try in 4 years of trying it 64%… basically you have more chance of getting pregnant than not getting pregnant.

the biggest increase in pregnancies is in the over 40s.

Yes but apparently chemo ages the body by around 10 years (reproductively and otherwise) - so would be like having a baby at 50. Too risky overall - and too high a chance of it growing up without a mum. My parents died when I was still a kid - terrified of life repeating itself - like it seems to be doing so far :frowning:

Hi Gardenbeetle

I really feel for you having just read what you have written. I can really understand your fears for your child. I don’t know if I can have children although the signs seem good. I didn’t have time to go through egg collection or anything. My doctors wanted me to begin the chemotherapy immediately so all I did before starting treatment was have some tests to determine my fertility status at the time and then measure them again after treatment. I was also given Zoladex injections to try and preserve my fertility. My periods came back around 5 months after finishing chemotherapy.

Wishing you the best of luck in whatever course you decide to take. Please try and think about the fact that a lot of women are ok after treatment and that treatments have moved on and developed quite a lot over the last 5-10 years and doctors have far more knowledge and understanding of what they are treating and how to treat.

Ruby xxx

GB im still planning to try for a baby post chemo… im 41 at the mo and slap bang in the middle of treatment.

i had no periods before chemo (as i have a mirena in) but since starting chemo i keep having them so dont think there will be any problems when the chemo finishes in that respect…

but i think there is no harm in having some eggs frozen if you are able to… but the chances with IVF are actually lower than the chances of conceiving naturally ie at 40 its about 15-20% success rate with IVF compared to 44% naturally… but def worthwhile having a back up plan as 15% is better than 0% if you do nothing and your periods stop.

good luck what ever you decide.