I am new here and new to the whole BC thing. I’m 29 and was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and had a lumpectomy and lymph node removal 5 days ago. So, I’m leaving the quiiiet, achy after-surgery weekend. As another user has said in a previous post, when I was diagnosed, the idea of not being able to have babies terrified my more than actually having BC…
As chemo has been put on the table, one of the first things the doctor suggested was to get part of one ovary removed and frozen (sorry for the lack of the right terms - English is my 2nd language). I went to the first appointment of this lamparoscopic surgery and came back home utterly utterly scared (and it was the day before the breast surgery - joy!).
So, my question is - have you gone through one? Is it very painful? How is the recovery? Do you know of any succesful cases?
Sorry of this has been asked before, but nothing came up in the search.
Sorry to hear that you are going through this but you have come to the right place. I had never joined a forum before, somebody told me to check it out and I have never looked back since. Everybody is so supportive and if it is information and advice you are after, you will find it.
I notice that you have commented on one of my posts already and are a fellow 1982 baby. It is nice to come in contact with somebody my own age. I certainly didn’t expect to be spending the year of my 30th birthday fighting this dreaded BC.
I hope you recover from your surgery quickly, I have been booked in for mine on the 2nd March, mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. I will spend 7 days in hospital and 6 weeks recovering and whilst I am in hospital my husband will be celebrating his 30th birthday :-(.
I to am concerned about Chemo and my fertility. Having a baby is all we have ever wanted. We tried 18 months to get pregnant and then I lost the baby at 20 weeks. We then found out we were pregnant again just after diagnosis and decided it was best not to got ahead, I needed to concentrate on me getting better.
I have only touched on the subject of choices open to me before Chemo and want to have the conversation with my consultant in more depth but I was told that I could have part of my ovarian tissue frozen (success rate not great) or I could have some of my eggs harvested. I was also advised that if I went through with the harvesting it would be iffy as my cancer is ER+.
Not trying to put you off the procedure you are having but have they given you all the info? Some fellow members have also mentioned zoladex injections which put your ovaries to sleep during chemo and we also have age on our side. There have been some lovely stories on here about members that have gone on to have children.
I hope some more people can give you advice first hand as I am a newbie just like you with not a lot of experience. Can only share what I have learnt so far and it is minimal.
Would love to stay in touch with you Carmy, whereabouts are you from?
Thanks for your comment, it was comforting to read. I am also glad to have found someone my own age. I was also thinking I would spend the year I became 30 in a much more different way. Saturday was the 30th birthday of one of my best friends. I prepared his gift for weeks - and then I couldn’t attend. But ah well, when we’re done with we’ll celebrate being 30, awesome and finally healthy.
I can imagine the day of your surgery might be making you anxious. Do you like your team of doctors/nurses? I really really like my doctor, as a professional and because of his totally humble and supportive pesonality. Thinking about that helped me on the way to surgery. You are in the best hands, so it is gonna go as well as it possibly can. In three weeks’ time, which will fly by so fast, you’ll be done with it.
I am so sorry to hear you will be at the hospital during your husband’s birthday. This year birthdays will be bittersweet, but next year we’ll celebrate it with style. This year it’s much more important to look after ourselves so we have enjoy all the coming birthdays fully. And so we will!
I am terribly sorry to hear about the loss of yout baby, and about the decision you had to take later. That must have been the hardest decision you ever made, but there’s a little confort in the thought that it really was for the best, and that it was good for your and your future health. Soon enough you’ll be pregnant again, I’m totally positive about it.
I’m so so glad to hear there’s nice stories around here of members who have gone on to have babies later. I have discussed the fertility issue with my doctor today and I am going ahead with the part of the ovarian tissue frozen. In fact, I am going to get checked at the hospital which does it tomorrow, and I’ll probably have the surgery the day after tomorrow…
I’m from Spain. Have lived in England for a couple of years, but my English is becoming a bit rusty now.
I’ll be getting the op on Thursday, and come back home on the same day. Can’t wait to be done with it and have some good friends over for tea and chocolate on Friday. Must think of the treat I’ll get once I’ve gone through it!
Hi Natalie, good to see you. Yep, I did ask lots of questions and am more calm now. They couldn’t offer me Zoladex because my BC is hormone related and hence it wouldn’t be advisable to treat myself with hormones now. And the other options is harvesting eggs, but they cannot offer that tecnique in the nearby hospitals, plus it would also require hormones and some extra time that we don’t have (I might start my treatment tomorrow), so ovarian surgery it is. Still a good back up plan, that I HOPE I might never need. The experience of other forum members getting their periods back after chemo has given me lots of hope and has lifted a weight off my shoulders a bit.
Not sure if you have seen the recent guidelines from the royal college of obs and gobs on breast cancer and pregnancy including IVF and fertility post chemo.
I did have the op yesterday and it was positively the worst day of my life. I was hardly injected any analgesics (spelling?) during it so I woke up with the abdomen inflated with gas cause they needed space to work during the op, 4 holes recently stitched over it and my bowels trying to push their way back into their space. I was in so much pain I just wanted to cry and scream, but could hardly breathe. Awful awful awful. I think it was mostly the lack of a sufficient dose of analgesics, cause another girl went through the same of yesterday and she could leave the hospital 5 hours earlier than me with not that much pain.
I couldn’t be any more happy yesterday is over.
Thanks for the good thoughts, Natalie. Hope you’re okay. :*
Lulu, thanks a lot for the link, I’ll sure give it a read. xxx
I’m so sorry to hear that the op was so awful for you I hope that you are feeling more comfortable now a few days on but it is another item ticked off the list for you.
What is next for you my lovely?
I am doing ok, this time in 2 weeks my operation would have been completed and I will be on my way to recovery. Had a CT scan on my tummy yesterday for the plastic surgeon doing my diep flap reconstruction so just waiting for my pre-op assessment now. We had a counselling session with my BC nurse as well which was good…got some feelings out in the open.
Thanks, I’m recovering well. I’m surprised at how the pain is slowly fading every day. So yes, that’s another thing off my list that I can forget very soon. The next thing up is the meeting with my oncologist this Monday morning. We’ll discuss my rads/chemo treatment and I might start it before the end of this coming week. I have been facing every day as it comes so had hardly given my treatment a thought until now. Now I can feel the fear creeping in, but I’m trying to stick to the stories of members who’s recovered well from it and acquantainces who didn’t get that many side effects.
I am glad to hear you are doing okay. The session with your nurse might have been so refreshing and like you got a weight off your shoulders. Such a good idea, and it will help you to face the surgery with better spirits. I’m sure they’re already doing a great job planning the reconstruction. These two weeks will fly by so quickly and soon you’ll be recovering and having a little treat to celebrate you’re done with the op and that your reconstruction is looking great. Let us know how the pre-op goes.
Sorry you are are having to experience the dreaded BC!!
I was diagnosed with triple negative at the age of 28, i’ll be turning 31 this year
I had a lumpectomy, 5 months chemo, 4 weeks rads… and then it reacurred in my lymph nodes :-/ 3 months later. So i had to near enough reapeat the same again but different chemo etc.
I finished rads 3 weeks ago… so i’m now free from treatment and praying there is no return!! I’m living my life to the full and apprecating every minute.
I Can understand what you girls are feeling about the fertillity issues. Fortunatly i was able to have the option of haveing IVF, this was the before the first lot of chemo i received. I was at the time in a relationship and opted to have my eggs frozen with my now Ex boyfiends sperm; this was successful and we have 10 frozen embroyos
But of course he is now my EX which could in the future cause issues… we are still friends, and he assures me that if i need to use them in the future i still can.
On a possitive note i only finished chemo in December and have already had one full period bearing in mind i’ve had 10 months of chemo in total! So stay possitive xxx
Don’t be to afraid of the chemo (as i was) last year i still managed to go out partying most weekends through treatment including going creamfields festival…
When i was first diagnosed; i reallly let the dreaded BC take over my life. I stayed home, stopped seeing friend, etc, etc!! The second time round i realised that life is far to short and no way would i give in to plans i had made to some wii little shitty lump the had developed in my body.
Ps… Feel free to ask me anything that’s worrying you I’lll try & help. I know I’m not health profession but I’ve now lived through 2 years of experiences, I lost my hair through the first lot of chemo; but not the second. I’m wearing a wig in my pic which I learned to embrace eventually. Losing my hair was a massive fear I had but I managed to turn the hole experience round so I could still look & feel good.
Thank you for telling us your story, I can certainly let you know that it has made me feel better and also makes you feel slightly more positive when you hear of others that have had their periods return.
I still have to have the fertility chat with my oncologist after my operation and before my chemo starts but I am not sure what my options are as I am ER+…will just have to wait and see.
Hi Natalie,
I hope you dont mind me butting in here - but i wanted to reassure you that some embryos can be harvested even if you are ER+.
I am currently unedrgoing treatment to harvest eggs so we can freeze embryos and i am ER+.
May its different depending on where you live i dont know - but its full steam ahead for me.
Fingers crossed it all works out for you too.
xx
Let me know how things go and if they let you go ahead with egg harvesting; things were different for me with being triple negative they weren’t to concerned about me going ahead with it. Although they have now told me the only contraceptives i can use are comdoms, or some sort of coil… i really don’t like the sound of that (coil) though!
More good news for me today, i’ve now started my second period since finishing chemo. So it seems like i’m going to be regular again figures crossed.
Thanks a LOT for telling us your story. I am so glad you are now recovered. You’ve given me a great dose of inspiration. And you do look great in the picture! After my first introduction to chemo session yesterday I’ve started looking into bandanas and headscarves and wigs today. Your post reassured made me see that you can still feel and look good despite the hair loss. Plase stay in touch. And massive YAY for your second period after chemo. You’ve made it!
By the way, and I know this is thinking tooooo far ahead - have you heard anything about the time recommended between recovery from BC and attempting to have babies? My doctor told me 2 years, the fertility centre were talking about 5 or 6… so just wondered and thought you might know.
I was told the same by my oncologist 2 years before trying, i was also told if i stopped my period during chemo it would more than likely take 5 months before i would have one again. So i was very surprised and as you can imagine over the moon when i come back on so soon (never thought i’d be so happy to have a period haha)
I only missed one period through the first 5 months of chemo i received, which again was a surprise because i was all geared up for them to stop.
How did your chemo go? What type are you having?
When my hair started coming out which was about 2 weeks after my very first chemo which was FEC; i decided to shave my hair off, it broke my heart but at the same time was a relief. As in a way it’s kinda like your warned it’s going to happen so i’d just got it over and done with.
It felt very strange when i first went out with a wig on i felt very consious, as the wig was a very differernt texture to my own hair… as time went on i got used to and started changing colours & lengths, i got to a point when is started feeling more glam than i did with my own hair (and eyelashes).
Although i didn’t lose all my hair through my recent chemo, it did thin a lot and snap off in places. I’m still currently wearing wigs but it doesn’t bother me in the slightest
I think we all deserve a ‘BIG’ group hug… lovely to chat, just a shame it’s the dreaded ‘C’ we have in common. Hopefully in the future we can all right to each other about the babies we have
I hope that you are feeling more comfortable now a few days on but it is another item ticked off the list for you.
(never thought i’d be so happy to have a period haha)