Pregnancy after cancer?

Hi there, I'm one of the champions here in this group and I just wanted to say hello and welcome.  I hope you find this a friendly place to exchange and share. Best wishes 

Hi Amelia,

I had stage 2a triple negative bc in 2021 and just turned 40 last year. I have a brca1 mutation too and had lots of chemo and radio followed by a double mastectomy. Because of being triple negative, I didn't have to take tamoxifen but I did take olaparib for a year post radio.

I had follow up checks with the fertility clinic last year, and they told me that my low egg reserve would make it very difficult to conceive naturally, but I still have hope of having a family. I'm single but looking for a partner, and it would be something that I will have to address when the time comes. I live in France and they have told me that I qualify to try with an egg donor but only until the age of 42 - so I feel a lot of pressure to meet someone before my timer runs out! It's something that's very difficult for me and hard for others to fully understand.

Due to my brca1 mutation, they also want to take my fallopian tubes away now I'm 40 to prevent ovarian cancer, but I've put it on hold for now, as I'm not ready to give up hope. I would love to have a baby of my own, but I know I also have to be realistic that there's a good chance that won't happen so I remain open to egg donor, surrogacy, adoption or even the possibility that I meet someone who already has a family. There are many paths to go down before giving up all hope!

Have you had any fertility checks done recently? Would you have to pause with tamoxifen in order to try to get pregnant? Were you offered egg freezing before you started treatment? I was, but it was such a nightmare time and they told me I had low chance of success, so I didn't do it. 

x

Hi Rose, thanks so much for replying. I got my tubes removed to lower ovarian cancer risk a couple of years ago but we did IVF before cancer diagnosis so have embryos in storage, just terrified of a recurrence if I take a break from tamoxifen. GP tomorrow to see if a natural cycle might be an option…

Best of luck with your journey x