*For those that don't like discussing the processes females go through to be considered fertile, you won't care for this post - you've been warned ;) *
One thing that a young adult faces, that older adults generally won't bat an eye at, is fertility or rather the infertility that can come with cancer treatments. Often times we're not even given options to conserve some of our fertility before treatment starts. This was my case. The word "menopause" became a jaguar hovering over head, just waiting to pounce on me and end my dreams of having at least two kids.
Now, I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had before this to have my son! But when you had your heart set on something, it can be very hard to face the reality that you may never reach that dream and you cannot do a damned thing about it. And it doesn't help when a certain doctor kept trying to use my son as an excuse to bombard me with any form of treatment under the sun, thankfully it wasn't his choice what treatments I went on.
Which brings me to the reason I actually thought of this post. As I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in previous posts I said no to Tamoxifen. I want to see if I can heal up fully, and perhaps be able to become a fertile female once more. Well, I am well on my way. I started my first period since my fourth chemo session, last Thursday. That's almost 6 months to the day from my last period! ha! What does this mean? Well as long as my eggs are still in working order and not harmed by all the lovely chemo and meds, I have the potential to be one of those few "Family After Cancer Treatments" folks... This lightens the load on my shoulders quite a bit. Cancer may have taken my breast, and if I have reconstruction before we conceive I won't be able to breast feed at all, but it may not have taken my ability to create more lil munchkins like my boy.
I guess I'll make an acronym out of that, too... lol "Having kids after chemo, that's a F.A.C.T." ;)
YaY Julie!! I know how you feel- only I am post menopausal. It's funny how people in their 40's are always told about infertility and such but when you're under that age group, doctors often neglect it and come up with excuses which at the time seem like easy peasy butof course are not (ie. surrogacy, adoption). Good for you to sticking to your guns! When it isn't meant to be things will move along- I am proud of you for standing for what you believe in!
ReplyDeleteHey Julie! So happy for you that your period has come back! I'm also a breast cancer survivor, and my period still hasn't returned. My last chemo was March 2nd...so still keeping my fingers crossed. I noticed you said that you decided not to take Tamoxifen, and I just wanted to ask you more about your decision, because I'm currently weighing the pros and cons of going on it. If you get a chance and are willing to chat, you can email me at kristal.wlc@gmail.com. Thanks:)
ReplyDeleteYay fertility! I thought I was going to make it through my chemo with my fertility in tact, but ended up losing my period right at the end: It's weird though, because it's a good thing not to be menstruating when you have a hormonal cancer, it's such a strange relationship to have with your fertility! I'm also curious about your tamoxifen decision (I recently finished chemo and will be starting on tamox next week). Can you share your thoughts or link to your previous post? Thanks and best wishes!
ReplyDeleteHi Lindahhh, I'll look at making a post about that. If you want to discuss it with me personally just post an email addy and I'll drop you a line. :) tks for reading!
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