Pregnancy after cancer?
anyone?
I am 40 and finished my treatment for stage 3 breast cancer two years ago. My onco has given me the go ahead to continue with my life plan of having another baby. We are seeing fertility doc next week to discuss our options.
Has anyone else went on to have kids after? Please share!
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hi nursie
I will be turning 40 this year and it always been in our head to have another baby. It’s been 5.5years after my chemo. My oncol has also ask us to go ahead if we plan to have baby.
Looking forward to see more sharing their experiences!
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I was completed treatment when I as 39. I had twins at almost 44yrs. It took me 4 years and 2 IVF transfers to be successful. After the first failed we opted to have the embryo tested and graded for viability. I contribute our success to that.
Also, I had many failed natural pregnancies prior to choosing to go the IVF route. Finally someone checked my thyroid levels and put me synthroid and I carried the girls successfully. I would make sure they tests you for that.
Obviously, breast feeding can be an issue. I did not have milk from my cancer breast, but did from my other. Not enough for twins, but a little is better than none I feel.
I should note, that i was Stage 1, Grade 1. I did not have Chemo and that I didn't go on tamoxifen or have any adjuvant treatment or f/u with the oncologists after my initial treatment was completed as I as discharged from their care when I decided to have a family. I understand that is probably not the norm now. None of my Fertility doctors were overly concerned with my history of breast cancer when we discussed the required hormone injections.
I did have issues during the pregnancy and experienced a lot of pain. I had an MRI and they found 2 nodules on my spine. They could only biopsy 1 of these but it was benign. I am sure they wouldn't have done the MRI if not for my history of BC. I'm glad they did. So if you are successful I would recommend letting them know about any discomfort etc. There are definitely scans etc they can do while pregnant which might help reduce the stress/burden of recurrence anxiety.
I hope things go well for you.
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I've had two complex conditions - LCIS and also borderline thyroid cancer (some centres said it was malignant and some benign). I have had a total of 6 children and the last one was after having my thyroid removed. I know you can do it after BC. It will require a lot of dedication on your part but it is possible. Good luck.
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This might not be helpful now, but there is a study actively recruiting participants to evaluate interrupting hormone therapy for the purpose of having a baby...
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Hey Nurse, I'm in a similar dilemma to you. I'm 37 now and 2.5 years from dx. I don't have any children, but did have fertility preservation prior to chemo, I have 2 embryos on ice.
As I'm ER/PR+ and high risk (node involvement, stage, age etc) my onco is reluctant for me to come off arimidex early and actually advised me not to do the Positive (interrupting) trial. She wanted me to wait the full five years, although recently I asked her and she now says minimum of 3 years.
I'm tempted to interrupt potentially this time next year, which would take me to 3.5 years, but it's scary. I'm also looking into adoption to keep my options open.
What type of bc did you have?
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Hi all! I am now 35, was diagnosed at 32. I did pre-chemo egg freezing but last year when the time came to unfreeze and fertilize them, we only ended up with 1 embryo and transfer to our gestational carrier was unsuccessful. I am on Tamoxifen (2 years in), and my oncologist gave the okay for me to stop my Tamoxifen & proceed with another attempt at egg retrieval. The first round of stimulation meds did not yield enough follicles to proceed with retrieval. My reproductive endocrinologist says we can try 1 more regimen, but if it does not work he states that further attempts are unlikely to be successful. From early in my diagnosis my medical oncologist has strongly advised against pregnancy due to the risk of the cancer returning. As you all know, there is just not enough research on the matter of stopping meds to try for pregnancy and reoccurrence due to pregnancy, although there is some research in the works which is awesome for the future. I want to be a mom so badly, that I am strongly considering trying to conceive naturally if this round of meds does not work. It is all so scary!! I hope we can keep this thread going and have others share who have had these experiences.
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I can't believe there are only 6 posts on this topic! I am three years post diagnosis, and I will be two years on zolodex in 5 months time. I have one son, I was diagnosed when he was 7months old. I am considering a second child. I was diagnosed at 35 (it was there when I was 34-the mid wife reassured me it was normal to have lumps when breast feeding....). I am now 38.
Obviously the worry of a reoccurrence is huge, but there is such a strong instinct to have another child, then after that, I would get my ovaries removed......
It is so hard to know what to do. If there are others out there in similar situations or have had children after a diagnosis, I would love to hear. xx. love to you all, its not an easy journey for anyone to take.
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Dear Jen,
same here with my daughter. Like you, she is 3 years out with dx and 2 years with Zoladex. Her former bf left her when confronted with the bad side of life. Now she has found her great love in a new relationship. She so eagerly wishes to have a baby in her near future. She feels good and healthy. This is so unreal, like finding yourself in a bad soap.
I'd also love to hear from others.
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I have a friend who was diagnosed with the same. She recover fully and had a 3 year old baby now.
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I was 36 (almost 37diagnosed July 2010 stage 2 - ER, PR, HER2+. Froze 3 embryos. Had chemo, radiation, herceptin, and tamoxifen. Started tamoxifen April/May 2011 and stopped tamoxifen January 2013, without onco knowledge, (you need be off 4 months before trying). Met with reproductive endo May 2013. After months of working with reproductive endo they finally implanted my embryos without success Januray 2014. Tried IUI March 2014 with success (had miscarriage and D&C June 2014). We tried and I became pregnant September 2014 without any help at the age of 41. I had a healthy baby girl 6/27/15 who just turned 3 Wednesday and she is the love of my life. We tried again had another miscarriage January 2017 and no other pregnancies. May 2018 diagnosed with a new breast cancer and we wanted another baby so I am trying to figure out what to do. They want to shut my ovaries down then have them removed.
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Jen - I’m sure there are other ladies going through what you guys are out there but not everyone chooses to post here.
For the record I’m not in your shoes. I’m older and my DH and I have 5 children together. We also have 12 grandchildren, however, I remember what it was like to want a child so badly I would do anything. I didn’t have to deal with the beast though while trying and I’m sure that’s difficult weighing the pros and cons. Having a baby at any age isn’t without risks but as you know as you get older the risks multiply. I had my last child at 39. Also, I did have 2 miscarriages.
Now you have a recurrence which obviously makes your decision even dicier. Idk what the risks are by interrupting your meds but I’m certainly all too aware of the risks with BC.
I also know women who have stopped taking the meds for other reasons and are doing fine. Some resumed taking them, others did not. The problem is it’s not one size, fits all.
I completely understand why you want another child. Only you can decide if it’s worth the risks.
At the end of the day it’s your life and your body. Your medical team will and has advised you but the ultimate call is yours.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Diane
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I am in the same boat. I'm meeting with my Onc next month. I'm only 6 months out from chemo...roughly or will be in September, but I'm 40 now, I can't really wait the 2-3 years so many people wait. If there are no increased risk of recurrence or risk to the baby, why would I wait? I think if it's going to come back it's going to, why would I stop. Plus with triple negative I would likely have to wait 5 years to know for sure if it was going to come back and then I'm definitely too old to have a baby, not to mention, according to blood tests, I'm perimenopausal. I'm in a race against the clock. Can anyone provide reasons or legitimate reasons why it's necessary to wait that long since my doctor said the chemo is out of my system by now and that isn't the issue?
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Hey Karen, I think the idea is that the first two years after treatment has the highest risk of it coming back. So a lot of oncologists recommend waiting until after this time, so you have passed this point and it's safer to proceed. Also chemo, radiation and surgery all take it's toll on the body. They say that it can take up to a year for people to completely recover from the toxicity of chemo and I guess pregnancy is such a big deal on the body again, that they feel it's better to wait. However I understand where you are coming from with the age thing..I'm 37 and similar predicament. Have you considered seeing a fertility specialist and freezing embryos, that way you could possibly wait a year or two.
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Julie, after having two different types of breast cancer now, I think you should consider what may happen if your cancer recurs in another part of your body. My twin sister wanted a 2nd baby so badly that she did 3 rounds of IVF at age 40. At 42 she was diagnosed with stage 3 BC. Unfortunately, she passed away just before our 45th birthday, leaving her son at age 10. He was the most important thing in her life and she never would have tried for the 2nd baby if she knew this would happen. I am not trying to scare you and I understand the deep desire for a 2nd baby, but please consider how it could affect your daughter. Her son is now in college and doing okay, but he has now lived longer without his mother than with her.0
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It was nice seeing what other women have been through with this topic. I’m 34 and 15 months post chemo. I had stage 2a triple negative cancer in my right breast which we found 6 weeks after giving birth to my daughter.
2 kids was our plan, but after recently being told by my doctor that I’ve most likely started menopause and would need fertility help if we wanted another child, we don’t think trying for a second is right for us. To be honest I’m terrified to be pregnant again for fear of it coming back on the other side since it manifested at some point during my preg
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it's been 15 months since chemo and i have been on Zoladex shots since 17 months ( through my entire treatment). Currently i am on Zoladex + Aromasin
My cancer was also discovered when my baby was 7 months. We always wanted a sibling for her and treatments did delay the plans.
I am most probably going to talk to my Onco next year ( either Jan or April) to stop hormonal to try. I am 36 right now and next late year will be 37. Don't want to delay further
Moreover there are studies that show pregnancy doesn't increase the recurrences chances .
I am not thinking about the recurrence , what ever has to happen will happen irrepsective of taking medicine or not.so why not go for it ? :-)
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I have had two kiddos since treatment ended, they are now 2 and 3 and perfect in every way. My oncologist was not supportive of my choice but that never bothered me, his job is to keep me alive, not happy. *smile*
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Hello ladies. I’m also wanting to have a baby. I just completed my surgery and will be moving on to radiation. I already finished chemo. During my last app with my oncologist, he was very against me wanting to do IVF after the two year mark after chemo since I’m hormone positive.I explained to him that not having a baby was not an option.
Christina, I'm very happy to hear that you were successful in having two babies! I'd be happy with 1. Did you complete IVF or did you get pregnant naturally after?
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Dear young ladies,
coming here to tell you my daughter is expecting a baby. She is in her 10th week of pregnancy now and very happy.
Her oncologist had no objections. He only told her not to wait too long, not to do breastfeeding and to restart Tamoxifen right after having given birth.
See her profile below.
Love and best wishes to all of you, Gudrun
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Hello,
I was diagnosed 4/26/19 - profile below...had been trying to conceive natural for a few years. Then turned to IFV & then diagnosed with BC a couple of days before starting meds for implantation. Lumpectomy on left breast w/breast reduction/construction completed. Starting 3 weeks of targeted radiation to begin 8/5. Then Tamoxifen for 5 years. Cancer was caught early & did not spread, very thankful. Wanting to complete IVF after radiation and to delay Tamoxifen after delivery...thoughts? My onco of course is not on board. I'm In my40's & waiting 2-5 years isn't an option. Thank you for your thoughts in advance. I hope I'm not not the only one in this predicament
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Well my insurance didn't cover IVF/embryo preservation, my cancer was ER positive and it would have taken me more months than I had to get the money and do the treatment.
It's frustrating to me that fertility preservation is not covered by insurance and it depresses me that I will never have a family so I try not to think about it. Breast cancer has made me regret not getting knocked up as a teenager.
People mention adoption and I am not opposed to that but I watched my aunt and uncle go through the process of adopting and it took 8 years and thousands of dollars and I will be nearing 50 in 8 years if I'm still around then, which I think would be a little too old for me to care for a baby.
This issue is one of the major reasons I feel out of place in breast cancer support groups IRL. Most of the women in those groups are either mothers or on their way to being mothers and it is a focal point of their lives, and I'm fine with that but it tends to exclude me from the conversation.
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Hi everyone,
I'm nearly two years on since finishing chemo and a year since the end of herceptin.
It's great to read about everyone's experience with fertility after treatment. I've just turned 38, and have no children. I would really like to try for a baby. I didn't have any egg freezing or anything and for me, i'd be of the mind that if it happens naturally, great, if not, if wasn't to be.
i'm constantly back and forth with moving forward and living my life as i want to, and back to 'oh what if' and should i just accept my lot and forget about my dreams of a child or any major commitments incase something bad happens. I know that no one hasa magic crystal ball, and anything can happen, but i'm just scared.
I have spoken to my GP, and she is very pro me trying, but my oncologist isn't the most approachable and i generally leave his office more scared than when i went in. I'm in a country where have a great public health system, we don't have a choice of oncologist, so i'm not sure if i want a meeting with him to be honest.
My cancer was her2 + and hr negative, decisions, decisions. I'm not sure what my question is, just sharing, as i'm sure there are others in this predicament.
lots of love and hope to all
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elfmcg,
I was also Her2+, hormone negative. I was diagnosed in December of 2014 when I was 37. I had a seven month old and 19 month old at the time and we were on the verge of trying for a third. Since I was stage 3, I did not do fertility preservation as I wanted to get started on chemo right away. Fortunately, I ended up having a complete response to chemo.
In February 2018 I saw a fertility doctor to talk about my options. He told me he did not believe that my specific regimen(TCHP) would be a problem with my fertility, more so my age! He told me to try naturally first, and then we would move on to Clomid. Well, we got pregnant right away. I had my baby on Thanksgiving Day last year at age 41.
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Hi raleighgirl,
that’s brilliant news. Very uplifting to hear, congratulations!!!! So happy for you.
My periods came back straight away and are regular enough, so hopefully i would have some hope too. My heart is definitely saying yes, to try!!!
X
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Hi I had stage 2 oestrogen positive breast cancer which has been successfully removed through surgery and the next stage is tramoxiphin and radiotherapy, however I have recently found out I am 5 weeks pregnant. I haven’t started the tablets yet but want to know if anyone else was or is in this situation who has had successful pregnancies as my fear is that the cancer will come back and I really want the baby
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Dear Zar,
Welcome to the BCO community. We are so sorry that you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and you are newly pregnant. This particular thread has not seen activity since August. You can use the search function in the tool bar and type in the words. "pregnancy and breast cancer". Be sure to use quotes. You will find other members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant. Perhaps you can reach out to them via private message. In the meantime we encourage you to contact your oncologist to discuss your treatment options in view of your new pregnancy. Please keep us posted and let us know how we can continue to be of help.
The Mods
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Hi everyone I'm stage 3 with 20 lymph nodes involvement I don't have children I'm yet to do radiotherapy but children are on my mind in future. I will be happy to hear of successful pregancies with lots of lymph nodes. My details are below
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this is so wonderful. I’m HER2+ stage 2A and just finishing taxol, may have to go on to AC. Also on HP.
I was diagnosed at 8 months pregnant and the thought of not being able to give my 3 month old baby boy a sibling hurts my heart. I’m open to adoption but because my first pregnancy was not “normal” and I could only BF for 3 weeks, I really want to have the experience again.
We’re you on Zoladex or any other protection meds during TCHP?
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one of my cancer patient friend is trying for pregnancy and have lost a few chances already. This time the doctor has asked for IVF as the only plan, one cycle gone with no results. Now, they are going for other another round. I would keep you posted if there is any positive news.
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Hi @Allala23
I’m currently 20 weeks pregnant, so far no problems whatsoever *touch wood*
I wasn’t on any protection meds during chemo or herceptin and got pregnant on our first try, so it’s definitely possible.
Well done on getting through all of that at eight months pregnant, and here’s to huge sprinklings of baby dust in the future.
Love & prayers to you xxx
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