I am 30 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically invasive ductal carcinoma. Before my diagnosis, I didn't even know what that meant. Now I have been forced into a reality where I not only know what it means but my doctors appointments and daily thoughts are filled with other previously unfamiliar words like neoadjuvant therapy, metastases, HER2 and triple negative.

I started this blog in hopes that some of the information I share may be helpful to other young women in a similar situation. Rather than posting my day to day experiences, feelings and progress, I plan to share some of the things I have learned along the way. Being dealt this hand in life at 30 years old brings with it some unique issues and questions. Will I ever have kids? How will this affect my relationships with my husband and friends? What is my long term prognosis?

Through this site you may find that my way of dealing with things is a bit different. I want to be educated about my disease and take an active role in my treatment and recovery. I want to understand every part of my pathology report, what it means, and feel confident that my doctors are recommending the best course of action. At each stage in my journey, I have experienced challenges with finding answers to my questions and ensuring that the medical professionals treating me really understand who I am and why my way of dealing with this disease may be unlike other women. My hope is that people will be able to relate to my experiences, learn from them and find some comfort that they are not alone.

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

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!
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