IF and Cancer
One thing Max and I haven't had to deal with during Max's cancer diagnosis is the infertility side of cancer and what the Chemo can do to ones future chances of becoming parents. Because hey well we have already been there, we have dealt with it. I would hate to imagine how it would be for others that have to go through the whole cancer diagnosis and also deal with infertility. Imagine having to start from scratch, contacting clinics, having to understand the process of IVF, sperm freezing, embryo freezing, protocols, drugs, ivf cyles and all the emotions that come with it AND dealing with Cancer, having that thrown at you at such an already difficult time would be just mind boggling.
Max started treatment straight away without much time between diagnosis and chemo which I imagine others would be in the same boat. So you would have to act quickly if you wanted children, you wouldn't have time to digest it all at your own pace like we were fortunate enough to do. I would imagine it would be difficult for a man to perform and supply his sperm whilst dealing with his diagnosis "Hey you have got cancer, do you want children in the future ? Ok now go and jerk off in this cup" and for a woman to have to go through an entire IVF cycle, injection, stimming and egg collection etc at such a crucial time. Just the memories of going through it are hard enough never mind having to deal with it at the same time as dealing with a loved ones diagnosis or your own diagnosis. In some ways I am grateful that we have already dealt with infertility because it would be truly challenging if I had to deal with that now, I really don't think I could have coped. My heart goes out to those that have to deal with both infertility and cancer simultaneously.
7 comments:
I saw a woman at the clinic one day with a scarf around her head - no hair underneath that I could see - and I thought, wow, she must be freezing eggs/embryos due to cancer. Don't know how that worked if she was already far enough into treatment to lose her hair, but then maybe she'd already gone and shaved it. Or maybe she was just an otherwise healthy infertile skinhead. Whatever her story, it made me really feel for those who are going through it all and cancer on top.
Bea
I met a girl at my clinic who was transferring her husband's sperm from their previous clinic.
He's had (and recovered from) cancer 5 years earlier and they'd frozen a large quantity of sperm at the time. They'd had 5 failed tries and were moving clinics to see if it would work there. i really felt for her.
I don't think you have to fit your cycle in pre-chemo necessarily - what a stress that would be.
Sorry i've missed a few posts. I've been thinking about the two of you xx
Hey Vee,
Yes that would be very, very hard. If you remember, I am a Med student (a while to go yet...). A few weeks ago we had a breast cancer tutorial and a visit from a woman who was a breast cancer survivor.
As she told us her story I had to fight back the tears - she was in the 2WW after an IVF stim cycle when she was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer. She told us how she could not bring herself to do anything until she had her beta. She had a really terrible time with chemo which had to be dosed dense (given every 2, instead of 3 weeks).
She is one of the most amazing women I have ever met.
It is so inspiring to me that during this amazingly difficult personal time you're thinking about and feeling compassion for those who have an extra challenge.
Hugs and sloppy doggie kisses :)
Many times future IF is the last thing on someone's mind, to their regret. A friend's husband was treated for cancer years ago. Freezing sperm was never mentioned- it was assumed the chemo would not affect future fertility. Fast forward to a couple years ago and a diagnosis of azoospermia. A biopsy revealed a small handful of sperm, and they saw an RE, who gave them a 0% chance of being successful with IVF/ICSI. They decided to go for it once for peace of mind, did a stim cycle and testicular biopsy. They praise the embryologist who spent hours combing through the sample. My friend is now pregnant with twins from that cycle. The sad thing is, they wouldn't have had to do that Hail Mary cycle if someone had mentioned sperm freezing beforehand.
I think you are right about a lot of things in this post, but mostly about how, despite not wanting to go through IF, you are fortunate that you had the time to absorb it all and work through it all at your own pace before Max's cancer. I can't imagine how hard it would be do try and absorb both things at the same time.
Hoping you are both well. You are in my thoughts often.
I came accross your blog by accident cause I was thinking of making a Tshirt that says Sweet Life. I'm a ten year cancer survivor. There is still sweet life after cancer -- I wish you all the best with your treatments and your future family. LT
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