I just wanted to share my story to give hope to those who want it.
I was diagnosed with BC in 2009 aged 38. This was followed by a mastectomy and chemo.
Prior to my diagnosis I had been exploring my fertility problems and had discovered that we were unable to have children naturally.
Between my mastectomy and the chemotherapy starting I had treatment to remove 12 eggs, which were then fertilised 7 survived and the embryos were frozen on day 1.
I was told that I would have to wait two years after chemotherapy before having the embryos implanted.
So fast forward to 2012, we had several discussions about our life going forward, and decided that we were ready to try to expand our family. Our two attempts of IVF were, sadly, unsuccessful.
We were not put off in our attempt to have a family so we then looked into adopting. The agency we approached said that we needed to have a break of 6 months after ivf, before we can be assessed to adopt, but did not see BC as a barrier.
So..... December 2013 we started on our adoption assessment.
December 2014 I had my 5 year check up and received the BC all clear and then a week later we were approved as adopters.
February 2015 we are now planning to meet our two children; I am overwhelmed, excited and nervous.
Having, dealing with, surviving BC was seen as a part of life that has helped build my resilience. The adoption agency felt that the support I sought from organisations such as Breast Cancer Care as positive (for example young women's forum), as it showed that when I needed help I sought help. They asked family and friends how we managed through the diagnosis and treatment as a couple. All of these things, they said are necessary to draw upon when raising a family and supporting children who may have had a traumatic start in life.
It's been a long and winding road, but I'm 100% happy.
Here's to the start of the next stage of my life's journey.
Good health to everyone xx
