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When Cancer Treatment saved my life, but left me Infertile

A lot of people, especially women would like to know if chemotherapy can leave you infertile. Fertility after chemotherapy depends on your age and the types of chemotherapy drugs and doses that you get. If you are a woman, chemotherapy can literally prevent your ovaries from functioning for a certain period of time, or even forever.

I was only 20 years old when I was diagnosed with myelodsyplasia (a pre-leukemic blood cancer). I was single and bald as an eagle. The only thing that I wanted in life was to fight this disease. I was also worried about the way chemotherapy could affect my fertility. I wanted to know more but the doctors and my parents made all the decisions for me. If I could have known then what I know now, I most definitely could have asked for more information about the impact the treatment could have on my fertility.

After undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatment for almost four years, all the cancerous cells were destroyed and I was healthy again but infertile. Chemotherapy saved my life but left me infertile. There is nothing as painful as being young and infertile. I later learned that there was a chance for me to save my fertility before the treatment began. I had read somewhere that cancer treatment leaves you infertile, but we ignored the possibility of me being infertile.

Chemotherapy’s main purpose is to destroy cancerous cells that keep on multiplying in your body. These cells can easily affect your ovaries and cause you to be infertile. My doctor assumed that since I was young, my fertility cannot be an issue. Well, he was wrong, as much as age is a factor, anything can happen.

My dream of having my own family someday was taken away from me at a very young age. It was hard for me to accept this, so I started to attend a late effects clinic to see if I still had any chances of getting pregnant. This is where I met a fertility expert who gave me hope. I was happy to learn that there was still a way for me to become a mother. Dr.Laxmi Shrikhande, the fertility expert that I met introduced me to egg donation.

Eggs from the donor and my spouse’s sperms were used for the IVF process and the embryo was implanted in my womb. This way I could see a ray of hope of fulfilling my dream of having my own family.

Fortunately, the process was a success and now we have a two-year-old beautiful baby girl and the family that I have always wanted. I strongly suggest that patients should discuss all the options with their doctors before they start their chemotherapy. You have a right to know all the options available to you before and after the treatment.

Thanks to the latest development in the field of Assisted Reproductive technology, people like me can still keep their dreams alive of having a baby.

Tags: cancer, egg donation, Freezing of eggs, Infertility and cancer, pregnancy after cancer