Grade 1 breast cancer and fertility

Hi Livvy,

Sorry to read about your recent diagnosis - it's so much to take in, especially at the beginning, I fully understand how you feel being bombarded with information! I had bc in 2021 when I was 35 and was offered egg freezing before I started chemo. In the end, I didn't do it because the timing was all wrong. By the time I'd waited for my initial appointment, I was at the wrong point in my cycle and doing the egg freezing would have delayed the start of my chemo by a few weeks and at the time I was too scared of my cancer to delay anything. During chemo I had monthly injections to shut down my ovaries in order to try to protect them from chemo which put me into a temporary menopause. At the beginning of next year I will have a full fertility check at the hospital, so for now I'm sorry but I don't have an answer to your question. I have a friend who had bc when she was 23 and she went on to have two children naturally, so it can be possible, but each case is different.

It's hard to suddenly have to make a decision so quickly on something you know nothing about but could affect the rest of your life. I hope you manage to do whatever feels the right choice for you and wish you the best of luck with everything xxx

Hi LivvyLoo, I wanted to send you all my love and support and I was wondering how things are going for you.

Today I've been diagnosed with grade 1 breast cancer too. I had a lymphatic tumour when I was 14yo so only the idea of going through chemo again, really distressed me.. As for you, I've been bombarded with so many information and it was so hard to stay focus and listen, but I did my best. I also have to have genetic testing followed by the option to have my eggs frozen, and reading your post I was wondering if you could share some information on what you did at the end. How are you feeling? 

Thank you so much in advance 

Hi Rose222

Sorry to read about you diagnosis I'm just wondering. Did your fertility ever come back? I'm 36 with stage 2 breast cancer her2 positive. I have to have to have multiple different tests before treatment. Freezing my eggs was also offered. I had an my first appointment on Wednesday last week but couldn't make the decision.

Hi Babyface,

I had an appointment with the fertility clinic a couple of weeks ago and I was told that I am infertile. They could not say with certainty that it's because of the chemo - as my egg reserve was already on the lower-ish end before and I am now 39, so it could be that this is just my body, but I suspect chemo probably did impact things.

I had kind of expected this result, and even though I'm not really in a situation to have kids (single and it's near impossible to find the right partner!) it still hurts quite a lot to not have the choice. I'm confident that I made the right choice for me at the time, so I don't have any regrets but if I'm honest, it's still something hard to accept, partly because I just want my body to be 'normal'. They did say that if I wanted children, there is an option to use an egg donor to carry a child, but this would need to be done before I'm 42. And of course there is adoption or even the fact that I could meet a guy who already has kids to consider, so all hope is not lost - sometimes, we just have to take different paths to get to where we want. 

Sorry to hear that you are just starting your cancer journey and faced with all the tough decisions that come with it, things do get easier I promise! I would say listen to your heart and do whatever feels the most right choice for you - wishing you the best of luck xx