I remember reading your post back in 2012, I was just diagnosed with bc and had also been trying for number 2. I am 4.5 years into my tamoxifen and I am wondering if I can allow myself to try and have another child, as like you I had my heart set on a second. It is a number of years since your post and I was wondering what you had decided to do?
I was diagniosed with BC in 2014 and have completed treatment sucessfully and am now on tamoxifen, and have been for 2.5 years now.
Before diagnosis we were about to start trying for a family, obviously this got put on hold but i would like to come off tamoxifen now to try for a child, and i would really like advise from people who have gone through this already and the desicion to come off tamoxifen early?
Hello, I realize this thread is very old, but wondering if anyone out there could provide some updates on their decisions five years later. I myself was diagnosed at age 34 with er+ her2+ breast cancer and 1 positive node. My daughter was 18 months at the time and I was hoping to become pregnant with our second child soon. I underwent 1 IvF cycle resulting in 3 frozen embryos prior to starting chemo. I have since completed treatment (chemo, rads) and I understand now that there is much research showing that pregnancy after ER+ breast cancer does not increase a risk of recurrence. That said, I am also her2+ so my oncologist has indicated there is not yet any data specific to my subtype. I desperately want a second child and am heavily debating coming off my hormone therapy (lupron + aromatase inhibitor femara) after 18 months when I will be 37. I’ve also been contemplating use of a gestational carrier, but the cost is of course astronomical. Just wondering if anyone has any current insight from their own experiences, oncologists, etc. thanks!
Hey all, I hope this may help you. I was diagnosed in March 2013 with Grade 3 ER+ PR+ 8/8 HER2- Breast Cancer. I had no node involvement and my tumour was 13mm so caught early. I had 6 rounds of EC Chemo and 10 sessions of radiotherapy. I finished my treatment in November and immediately started Tamoxifen. In February, I fell pregnant whilst on tamoxifen. There were a lot of worries from all my specialists, but despite this we continued with the pregnancy. I immediately discontinued the tamoxifen as soon as I even thought I was pregrant. In November 2014 I gave birth naturally to a very healthy 9lb 10oz baby boy. I had 6 weeks to recover from the birth and then restarted tamoxifen. I now have a very beautiful 3.5 year old who keeps me on my toes for sure and I am considering having another child now I am 5 years cancer free. I hope that helps you. I know of many women who have gone on to have children after breast cancer. There is always a risk and that needs to be clearly discussed with your oncologist or cancer team.
Hi KTJB
I wasn’t sure if your message was from this year so am typing back 13 May 2018 in case that helps you or others.
(at 38 I had a grade 2 tumour, 3 nodes positive ER+ Her2 - …lumpectomy, chemo FEC-T x6, radio x19 and opted for Tamox rather than tamox plus zoladex…however), after discussion with oncologist I came off Tamox early to use frozen embryos whilst in early 40s. Frozen embryos dont age which is a bonus so they remain at 38…
It is my understanding that it is usually recommended to come off Tamox 3-6months before trying. I came off 6 months prior.
We are currently attempting our final embryo transfer. It has been a challenging process and the rate of success is varied and there are many individual factors…like everything related to cancer, treatment and side effects - it is very individual so your case is unique and treatment decisions is about what is best for you…close communications with all specialists certainly makes the process easier.
For estrogen positive cancer they sometimes suggest using estrogen patches and progesterone pessaries instead of oral tablets and injections as then the hormones are not passed through the body the same and therefore considered potentially safer. These would be taken for 12weeks of pregnancy in a successful transfer.
Close communications between fertility and breast care team/oncology is important and making them aware too of things not everyone understands unless they’ve had cancer treatment eg things like vaginal dryness and the ongoing psychological impact etc etc
It can be a difficult psychological process taking hormones after breast cancer but pregnancy and ivf pregnancy post cancer is becoming more and more common - which athough doesnt guarantee anything, suggests success and progression.
Breast care team should also offer to support monitoring though it is worth noting that most scans are not suitable in pregnancy and pregnancy will change breasts anyway. It is therefore more likely the checks willreally start after birth. However…it can help to have scans before starting…then you start knowing you have just had a clear mammogram/ct/bone…
Anyway, hope that in some way helps. There is not much research yet as this is still a new area (of research) but there are many of us trying this and many who have had successful births without stimulating recurrence… but they havent been part of a research project to be included in stats.
This is the best decision that you’ve made. Always you have to think that having a baby is the best that God can gift you. I understand that you have to overcome a massive problem in your life with this disease, but having a kid will make you the happiest woman in the world. For example, I am very excited about my baby, and I love him so much. I bought for him the best and safe car seat from cutelittledarling.com/best-3-in-1-car-seat/. I got it at a very affordable price, and I am delighted with the quality.
A colleague of mine had breast cancer when she was young. And by the time she was 30, she realized she wanted to have a baby. She was tested and competed about this decision for a long time. She had a lot of tests, and after a year or so, she was told that she could have a healthy baby. We were all very happy for her and tried to support her in everything. Her husband was a fantastic helper throughout the pregnancy. He studied everything at mother.com/first-trimester-pregnancy-guide/. Now their wonderful daughter is 4 months old. She is an amazingly healthy baby girl who is surrounded by lots of love.
I had struggled with breast cancer for almost two years myself. I’ve been through rough chemo. But I was young at the time. And when I was around 30, I wanted a kid. But due to chemo, my healthy cells also got destroyed, and I couldn’t. This could have been prevented if my parents had asked the doctor to take some of my eggs before the chemo. But as it was, I decided to adopt. I have met with an agent from some local fostering agencies. I have met a beautiful baby girl. She was around 6 months from the moment I first saw her. She looked like a little princess, and I knew I had to be there for her.
Hi everyone!
Just looking for any updates on the hormone therapy vs. pregnancy issue ? I’m new to all of this but find a lot of conflicting info regarding how safe it is to get pregnant right after treatment. I’m in my late 30s already, so I’d like to try for a baby after my surgery/radiation but before going on any hormone therapy like tamoxifen (which just sounds horrible honestly … I doubt I’d be able to deal with the drug’s side effects anyways). My cancer is early-ish, as far as we know pre-op, but as soon as we started trying for a kid a few years ago my husband got cancer and now it’s my turn - you’d think we’d take a hint! But I’m feeling defiant.
Thank you for posting.
We were trying for our first baby the year I got diagnosed.
We had had a miscarriage with our first pregnancy, then we’re trying again when I found the lump.
I had er+ lump that went into my lymph nodes, had lumpectomy, lymph nodes clearance, chemo for 4 months and 4 weeks of radiotherapy.
I started monthly Leuparelin before I started chemo then a year of letrozole.
I stopped taking it on Aug 7th and am waiting for my periods to come back.
I had a gynae appointment and they can see 3 follicles on one ovary and the other still looks asleep and the lining is still thin.
IVF is far too expensive to be an option right now.
Has anyone else come off letrozole, how long did it take for your periods to come back?
Has anyone managed to conceive after stopping Letrozole?
Everyone keeps asking how long am I going to keep trying for, though even the idea of sex at the moment doesn’t feel appealing.