Embryos on Ice

Once it was determined that I would need chemotherapy, one of the first things the doctor warned me about was the possibility that I may become infertile. I would start on Adriamycin and Cytoxan for 4 cycles followed by Taxol for 4 cycles and she explained that chemotherapy in general, and specifically the AC combo can put women into early menopause. There is no way for the doctor to know how you will be affected, however, typically the younger you are, the more likely it is your ovaries will produce fertile eggs after chemotherapy. I am hoping this will be the case but did not want to risk it as my husband and I have always wanted kids (and had actually been planning to start a family right around the same time that I was diagnosed). Not only finding out that I had breast cancer but also facing the very real possibility of never having kids was a huge blow. 

Especially when chemotherapy is given before surgery, time is of the essence if you want to try doing a cycle of IVF. With my doctor's referral, I called a fertility clinic and booked an appointment right away. After speaking with the doctor, we decided to try freezing some embryos before I started chemo and we had 15 days to do it. Based on what I have read, there are not many couples that choose this option for a variety of reasons. Cost can be a major factor but there are some programs like Fertile Future that aim to make fertility preservation treatment more affordable. Timing is also a concern but if it is important to you, IVF is worth looking into.

I am triple negative so after consulting with my oncologist, she thought it would be safe to start with the hormone injections right away. After a tough 15 days of multiple needles, ultrasounds and the egg retrieval, we now have frozen embryos and hope that having kids will be in our future!