Brain Tumor: Emergency IVF

I can't believe how much has happened since I found out about my brain stem tumor less than two weeks ago. (More on my blog So I Have a Brain Tumor.) I am now only four days away from my biopsy and shunt placement surgery, and a few weeks away from starting radiation and chemo. (More on my blog Brain Tumor: Next Steps.)

Chemo & Infertility

When I met my neuro-oncologist last week and he mentioned the word chemo, I instantly thought of hair loss, illness, and infertility. Fortunately I will get to keep my hair and in theory shouldn't feel too sick since I'll be taking oral chemo (for 1-2 years) versus undergoing chemo infusions, but the risk of infertility is still sadly present. I actually wouldn't have even known about fertility issues after chemo if I hadn't read about it on my neighbor's blog several months ago. My neighbor (who is about my age) is a survivor of both ovarian and bone marrow cancer. She found out she was pregnant at the beginning of the year, but then found out at four months that the baby had severe birth defects and would not survive. I barely know my neighbor. I read her blog because she writes about her vegetable garden whose produce she sells at our local farmers market. Even though I don't know her,  reading this blog back in April brought me to tears. 

Before I read her blog I had no idea that chemo could ruin your chances of fertility, I had no idea that there was an opportunity to freeze your eggs before undergoing treatment, and to be honest I had no idea this information would ever affect my life. While my decision to now freeze my own eggs is somewhat private, I feel compelled to share my story so that everyone reading this can hopefully share this information someday with someone else that it may benefit. 

More about UCSD's  Fertility Preservation Program here. 

This is Totally How I Picture My Eggs

Fertility Treatments and IVF

When I met with my neurosurgeon and neuro-oncology team last week I mentioned to both of them that David and I had planned to try for a baby next year, and that with the recent news of chemo I wanted to go ahead and harvest eggs. Both doctors seemed okay with the idea, but neither said "oh, let me get you in touch with a fertility specialist". I also sent a message to my endocrinologist asking for a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist, but heard nothing back. WTH?? We met a social worker after the first two doctors though and she was the magic person who has helped make this all come true. She called a doctor at the UCSD fertility clinic Reproductive Partners, the doctor called me the next day (from a conference in Chicago!), and on Friday I had an appointment to come in and start the process.

The timing of everything was really tight. My neuro team wants to do the surgery right away, and as soon as I'm recovered from that they will want to start radiation and chemo. Squeezing the egg harvesting process in between the two has been a tricky feat, but amazingly it has all worked out.  I have thanked God repeatedly for this, and this whole process is the one bright spot in my rather grim journey. 

When we met with the fertility clinic last week they looked at my ovaries and counted my follicles. Huh? Yeah, I had no idea what this all meant prior to last week. What's a follicle? The doctor said that my ovaries looked great and that it was good that I was "young". Really? I'm 34. I've always felt that 35 was the beginning of reproductive doom. Anyways, he counted 24 follicles which he said put me in a great position for harvesting. The plan was to give me hormones for 10-15 days which would cause multiple follicles to turn into mature eggs which could be harvested. (Naturally only one egg would mature per month. More about ovulation here.)

Once the eggs were harvested they would check to see how many were viable. The next steps are something that David and I are still deciding on. We can either freeze just my eggs, or we can fertilize them and freeze the embryos. With current methods of freezing there is a 70% chance of a successful unfreeze of the eggs, and a 95% chance of a successful unfreeze of the embryos. Its all a numbers game at this point. Its amazing how small the chance of actually having a baby is. They harvest a number of eggs, a subset are viable, if we fertilize them only a subset of those will mature properly, the embryos are then frozen and not all will survive the freeze, and then when they are implanted there is a 60% chance that one will take. We have decided to make the final decision of egg vs embryo once we find out how many viable eggs I have.

Hello Kitty Hospital in Japan

Paying for IVF

On a different note, do you have any idea how ridiculously expensive IVF is? I couldn't even believe it when I found out. I have to say though, there has been a few small blessings that come with having cancer. The Livestrong foundation has a program called Sharing Hope where participating clinics will offer you a discount on fertility treatments. Instead of ~$15K, my treatment will only cost $6K. On top of that Walgreens has a new program called Heart Beat that was rolled out a week ago where the fertility drugs that you need to stimulate your ovaries are given to cancer patients for free! FREE! This is a savings of another few thousand dollars. Amazing. 

One other thing I have to mention is that even with the discount, IVF is totally not something I can afford on my own. I am so so so so grateful to say that my parents are covering the cost of this. I'm an only child, they obviously REALLY want grandchildren. :) And they love me and want to support me in things that are important to me.

Hello Kitty Hospital in Japan

Next Steps

David and I met with the fertility clinic yesterday to finalize our 'calendar' for the next few weeks. I will begin hormones the day after my surgery, and about ten days later I will start having daily appointments to check to see if the eggs are ready to harvest. The harvest is expected to happen between Oct 24-27, and on Oct 29th I will begin radiation and chemo. 

I am beyond overjoyed that this is all working out. Thanks to the love of my parents, the help of my social worker, and through the help of UCSD, Livstrong, and Walgreens - having a family is actually a possibility for me. I have always wanted to be a mother, yet I never felt that the time was really right. Being faced with the the possibility that motherhood could be ripped away from me in a few weeks though, I instantly wanted to protect it. The next few weeks, months, years are going to be tough, but thinking about something positive off into the future (like SURVIVING and becoming a mother) has given me, David, and our families something bright to look forward to.

Please say a prayer for David and I and our families. I am praying that my surgery on Oct 8th goes well, that my IVF goes smoothly, that my radiation/chemo treatment is successful, and that I have a long life surrounded by several children.