Jan, I have also been told it is a two year wait after diagnosis and then a break of a year from Tamoxifen. My oncologist is a champion for my fertitlity, he is leaving soon, and I will miss him so much because of that.
I know some people worry that pregnancy increases oestrogen and that it might bring the cancer back, but there isn’t any evidence that pregnancy after ER+ BC reduces your prognosis.
I am on Tamox and Zoladex to keep the oestrogen to a minimum in the meantime, and in the hope it will protect my ovaries from the chemo.
I am nearly 38, and nearly one year from diagnosis, so just one more year to go… I tell you, it was never in my ‘life plan’ to be 40 and pregnant! But now, I just hope and pray that I get that opportunity.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one going crazy wondering about this. I’m 32 and haven’t had any kids yet. My bc was dx in July and have since had a lumpectomy and lnc. I decided straight away that I wanted IVF but naively tried to get funding since we didn’t have the money for it. In the end after being told by the NHS that my situation wasn’t special enough to warrant funding, we had to take the plunge and pay for it ourselves. I should be ready for the egg collection on Monday and starting chemo (which have had to delay by over 2 months)the week after. I have to admit that I am a bit overwhelmed right now with everything going on at the same time and still working full time… I can’t even bring myself to think how i’ll feel after all of this if the eggs don’t fertilise… Also my Onc doesn’t seem too bothered about giving me zoladex but I’m scared to risk not taking it just because my periods ‘should’ come back… Am I being selfish? Ahhh head hurts!!
Hi all,
I am 34, and currently single. DX 9/9, WLE 14/9, LD flap recon 15/10. ER- and PR-. My hospital team have really come through for me on this issue. I saw the fertility consultant 1 week after my recon, and he explained everything really well. He managed to secure NHS funding for me for egg freezing, and I had my first scan less than a week after seeing him. Am now jabbing myself daily, and harvesting should be Wed/Thu next week.
Everyone has been really amazing, managing to squeeze me in at really short notice so that it won’t delay the chemo.
I know there are no guarantees, but I think I would have regretted it if I hadn’t gone down this path.
Bumping for tiggy80. Sorry thecsite went mad and posted my last post on your threAd 4 times! I forgot to say, different hospitals have different procedures for scanning at dx. At my hosp you get the scans if there’s lymph involvment confirmed but not usually before. Is different allover from what I can gather.
I’m 33 and was diagnosed on 26th Nov with Breast Cancer. At this point we were actually 7weeks pregnant with our 2nd baby. Our first little baby is just 10months old, he was a fertility baby so we were keen to try and conceive naturally as soon as possible. We got caught so quickly and then our baby was snatched away so sadly by cancer on 6th Dec (I had no choice but to have a termination and then had my fist wle and all my lymph nodes removed during the same operation) My biopsy results showed that the cancer around the tumour was close to the margins so I returned to hospital on 23rd Dec for a second wle to remove more tissue. We will get the results early Jan and then we will be meeting the oncologist to discuss my chemotherapy treatment. We are so grateful for our little boy and everyday feel blessed to have him, the past year of my life as been so fantastic as I have spent every day with him whilst on maternity leave - I have loved every minute We can’t let go of the dream of having another baby yet and have a long way to go to start to come to terms with our recent loss (we are receiving professional help)
Good luck to you all and I wish you lots of happiness for the future. This is life shattering but I believe that when we come out the other end we will live life 110%. It’s been so helpful to read about other peoples experiences - thank you for sharing them (I just wish we didn’t have these experiences to share!) xx
I am sure your fellow users will be along soon with support although it is a little quieter than usual due to Xmas. BCC offer services specifically aimed at younger women which you may find of interest and you can read more about those here:
I’m so very sorry to hear about your diagnosis and the loss of your pregnancy. What an awful time for you and your family. You sound very self aware and that will no doubt stand you in good stead for the months ahead. I was dx in march at Age 36 when trying for our third baby. I have had a lumpectomy, sentinel
node biopsy, Chemo and radiotherapy and am on tamoxifen now. A really hard year but doable. My advice would be to accept help and save your energies for nice time with your baby rahher than doing the stuff that anybody could do. Get the cuddles etc in before you try and iron the clothes! I have had some really down times this year. The big thing with Chemo for me was the way it threw my hormones out completely, leaving me feeling like post baby blues for a few says each cycle. This site was a godsend helping me through. I worried that I was never going to feel like myself again, but I do. I am happy and enjoying my life much much more than I am sad and tearful. I still get upset sometimes but I think
that’s a hethy way of accepting and dealing with emotions rather than burying them. Keep posting, there are usually many many ladies ready willing and able to chat and help, just not so much on boxing day it seems!!!
Thanks so much for replying. I didnt expect any replies over the Christmas period but we have just had a laptop and internet connection for Christmas. I was keen to have a look at this website and thought why not post a message as it seems to help ‘talking’ about it. I’m not really looking forward to 2011 and our first Christmas hasn’t been too good but I am going to try and make the most of the good times (as I know there will be some :-)) Listening to you it does sound doable and I’m sure you are making up for lost time now that the Chemo is over (for me thats the worst bit!) I’m not sure what my regime is until I meet the Oncologist early Jan so I will have to let you know. Do you mind me asking how old your two children are? Did you need lots of help to get through the days during the Chemo cycle in terms of looking after them? We are sorting some help out but I’m not really sure what to expect and it doesnt help that it seems to be different for everyone!
Hi ladies, I have been researching the internet looking for answers to my question, to risk IVF or not and came across this post.
I am 39, diagnosed 2.5 years ago, in the same week as being accepted for IVF treatment. Newly married and very keen for a family, we were devastated as initially thought it would never be. Egg retrieval not possible due to impact of hormones on cancer. Had full right MX, ER+, node neg, grade 2, 4 months of chemo and delayed reconstruction. Thankfully, oncologist and IVF consultant discussed my case and did everything to preserve my fertility. Everything appears to be back to normal.
Was told 2 years of tamox and then could try for our family. Only lasted 1 year on tamox as side effects were horrendous. Here we are though, had an appointment with the IVF consultant today and can start treatment within the next 6 weeks. Now I am at this stage, I am worried sick that I might be doing the wrong thing… or am I? It is not an easy decision and my heart goes out to all of you in the same or similar position xxxx
In terms of the treatment side of things I am glad to hear the nasty stuff is over. In terms of your decision I cannot even begin to imagine what is going through your head. It seems as though somehting which should be so innocent becomes so calculated (based on statistics)
Yesterday we had our initial meeting with the Oncologist and today I have been told that my Chemo starts next thursday (1 week away!) followed by radiotherapy. I am having 3 x 3 weekly FEC and 3 x 3 weekly Docetaxel. In terms of my Chemo its moderate-harsh but has been prescribed for my long term survival not to preserve fertility although the Oncologist does hope that I’ll have a 50% chance of still being fertile after this. We are hoping that this is the case and then I can have Tamoxifen for 2/5years and try for a baby if we wish. At this point we cant seriously begin to think about this and all the possible implications as we need to get through the next few months.
Our position is so different as we already have a son (11 months) but we had hoped that our family was only just begining not ending. Its a really difficult call but you need to go with your heart, live for today and dont leave this life with any regrets. At this point in time we are already thinking that we wont give up on baby number 3 (my inital message explains baby number 2) as it means so much to us. Make sure you give yourself enough time to make an informed decision and seek as much advice as you can from the professionals.
Hi to both of you! Sorry didn’t reply earlier, I hadn’t spotted the replies.
The ivf decision is really tricky isn’t it. I don’t think I would risk it in my present position as I have to focus on my two boys , but I can see why you are seriously considering it. You don’t say how old you are. Is there any prospect of waiting a bit? There’s a pregnancy thread recently posted which lulu started, becwarned it’s a bit of a contentious issue on this forum though, a bit like diet, and people often have rather uncompromising positions.
Sharon my boys were 2 and 4. When I was dx in march, now 3&5. Yes I needed quite a bit of help, mainly for thr first week after each Chemo. My oh has his own
business so was hard for him to take on even more. My mum stepped in and basically looked after me and my boys. But on weeks 2 and 3 I was ok to do stuff, within reason! Have a look on my good days even thru Chemo thread which I will bump up for you. Might give you a flavour of what to expect. It is doable though, just prepare for the worst, hope for thr best, shop
online, accept help and get a cleaner if you can afford one!
Happy to help all
I can, if I miss replying just pm me as am
not on here as much as I was now, a sign of moving onwards and upwards!
I’m 35, I was diagnosed last month (April 2011) ER+ 1cm tumour and they think they got it all, no spread to lymph nodes so I’m very lucky. I’m still being given information to have chemo, and I am finding that decision really difficult (I started another new thread on this about whether I should have the chemo or not).
I already have a 2.5 year old daughter and of course I want to be sure I’m here for her. In my case I might get away with taking the tamox but since I’m nearly 36 I don’t think I’d take it for the full 5 years if I wanted to try for a family.
I don’t know what the oncologist will say at my upcoming appointment but I’m concerned about them advising chemo (despite the fact that I’m stage 1) as a precaution, but chemo obviously has such serious effects on fertility.
Sorry to hear your diagnosis. I am on holiday now (see, things get better i promise!) so will answer more when i get home but wanted to say that i spoke at length to a fertility expert last week at thr manchester young womens forum, you csn have ivf to get eggs and have your partner fertilise them and then they are frozen. They remain as good as if they were implanted now before chemo. Oestrogen levels only rise from around 4000 to 6000 and only for a few weeks as opposed to levels of 30,000 for 9 months with pregnancy. You do the ivf between surgery znc chemo. Believe me, go and have the chat with the expert, i widh i had. The guy i spoke to is based in liverpool and they have a 72 hour referral policy which is fAb. Your pct may pay, but less likely as you alreadyhave a child. It costs 4k to pay yoyrself but you can go whereever you want then. Send me a private message if u wish but i dont fly back til next wedneaday and this is costing me a fortune now!!!
I’m going to seriously talk to both my fertility consultant and my oncologist.
My tumour was grade 2, 1cm ductal invasive, no evidence of spread. They say 92% survival stats for using rads and tamox alone, but this increases to 95% with chemo.
I think that whatever decision a woman makes, we have to never look back and wish we’d done differently. I totally understand your comments about the terror of not being here for your child, my girl is nearly 3 now.
Also the other lady who posted from abroad, - THANK YOU for the info. I’ve been told I probably can’t have eggs harvested due to the ER+ ?? I will see what the fertility consultant says.
We can’t let go of the dream of having another baby yet and have a long way to go to start to come to terms with our recent loss (we are receiving professional help)