Post Chemotherapy Patient

Not me personally, but a young lady in my office had chemo 16 years ago for Hodgkins and after that, married and had 2 sons. She is still fine and the boys are great..

L.,

I cannot comment on post chemotherapy infertility. You may want to explore the treatments you had with your oncologist and see if any of them can have an affect on fertility.

But, I did want to encourage you and give you moral support. I am not sure at what point they consider a woman to be infertile or how long you have to try before they consider medical problems. Without sounding like I am bragging, I have never had any problems, and in fact, did not plan any one of my babies. My last was post vasectomy, and though my husband had his stuff snipped, I also opted to have my tubes tied during my c-section. One more child and we can pretty much say goodbye to paying for all 4 of their college tuitions! I have found in general though, that many women get what they desire when they stop chasing it. I'm not saying let go of the dream... but understand you do have time... right now, time is on your side and you've been given a second chance at life... congratulations on beating your cancer... God bless you {{hugs}}

When you consider the chemistry of conceiving, it's amazing the human race has survived at all. The brain is a very powerful thing... when you are content in your body and soul, you will find harmony within, and I believe your body will then be an ideal environment to grow a baby.

So I just want you to know that you DO have time... and have fun trying! :) Some women find that when they stop all the medical means of conceiving a child... that God had his own plan all along... life is a gift, enjoy every moment.

Good luck to you. I hope you find good answers about wether others have seen a connection between treatments and infertility, or that your oncologist can give you a satisfactory answer on the matter.

Just wanted to encouage you! I had the exact same chemo for Hodgkins almost 10 years ago now. I now have 2 kids "post chemo". I did wait about 5 years to have my first. Usually, according to my oncologist, if your period remains pretty regular throughout your chemo that is a good sign for future pregnancies. My 2nd pregnancy took a lot longer (almost a year) as soon as I stopped worring/stressing about getting pregnant on my time line and really "trying" (figuring out my cycle etc), we got pregnant. Just know time isn't running out that fast :-)

Honey I can not relate to you in regards to the treatments but I can tell you that any negative thought in regards to it being "too late" or time is running out will not help you. Positive thinking and praying should help your situation in the way it should be. Sometimes we humans get caught up in all the wants in our lives and we don't take the time to really breathe and see our needs. Relax and the want may or may not come, but you can not determine the rest of your life on negativeness because you may or may not be able to have a baby. Stay positive... My Aunt was 30 something when she was diagnosed with Breast cancer and two years later she concieved a baby boy. Hopefully this helps and God Bless you and your family. If you are a spiritual breathing and need a little uplifting watch this video in two segments... it's about 14 minutes total...... Y H V H!
PART 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY3K7uVeELA&feature=re...

This is Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12dFM0JDRL0&NR=1

My cousin had EXACTLY what you had-- hodgkins AND cancer and received chemotherapy. She successfully had 5 kids thereafter without fertility drugs and this was 25 years ago. If her experience is any pattern, you'll be golden! Good luck!

I would go get checked out at a fertility clinic. There are so many reasons that you may not be getting pregnant, including many that are unrelated to chemo. I go to Northwestern Memorial's reproductive practice. I love my doc - Dr. Kazar and several of my friends have used him too. I like that practice for a variety of reasons:
1. They get the best results according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's stats
2. Dr. Kazar takes a conservative approach and so won't have you do every test imaginable just so he can bill for it.
3. It is not a factory like some of the fertility places such as FCI
4. It is within a medical school so if you need other specialty services, it is an easy referral.
5. the front desk staff are very empathetic, which is important in this line of business (the nurses are a bit colder)
Dr. Kazar's tel is ###-###-####

I have not experienced this, but I have a sister who has, and she had three fabulous kids AFTER her treatments. She did not think that it would happen, but it did- naturally.

L.,
My heart goes out to you, however, you sound like a fighter. Your mental state as well as your physical state will offer great hope. I am not a chemo. patient. I am involved with whole food nutrition and many cancer clients of mine benefit greatly by adding more raw fruits and veggies to their diet. This allows you to strenghthen the healthy cells you do have. The company is running clinical studies with pregnancys. Another study is being done with cancer patients. If this sounds of interest to you, click on the link below to view the information. Also, we are hosting a health lecture this Wed. (5/14). Our guest speaker will be the director of C.A.S.E (Center for Advancement in Cancer Education). This lecture is free to the community. I would be happy to forward a flyer to you with the details.
Best of luck to you.
N. - Nutrition Naturally
www.jp4ahealthieryou.com

L.-First of all let me saying with all of the drugs and medicines you have been on has made your body very acidic. All cancer patients and former cancer patients are harboring too many toxins in their bodies to have it function optimally. I would first get checked by a doctor that deals with those issues to make sure that you are ovulating properly.

Once that has been answered, you can heal your body naturally and get it back on track so that you can have a full term healthy pregnancy with out the drugs (all drugs are acidic). It can be done. I have known two women that have successfully gone this route and it is much better for you and baby!!!

I have been counseling women for a numbers of years thru health challenges including cancer to heal themselves. If you would like more info please let me know and congratulations. You have been thru so much and now have a new outlook on life. As far as what the others have said--I have beaten all odds and just had my 4th child at 38 and we are possibly talking about one more. You do have time. The mind is one of the most incredible healing mechanisms we possess!!

T.

I work for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Have you contacted your local chapter? I can give you more info if you like. Contact me at my work: ____@____.com or (888) 451-1692 x 1024. Or, you can get online at www.lls.org - We have many patient services resources including printed info, along with being able to talk with another survivor in your same situation. I would love to be able to help you! :)

Dear L.,

First of all congratulations on beating cancer, and God bless you for all that you have been through and have endured. Your strength truely makes you remarkable...I am also a two time cancer survivor; ovarian cancer was diagnosed in 2004, and this past October in 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am happy to say I am now cancer free, but have no ovaries or breast tissue (am going through reconstructive surgery)It has been a very long uphill battle for me... I have heard that chemotherapy can put some women into premature menapause, as it stops the normal function of the ovaries.

I am an adoption professional and have been doing domestic infant and international adoptions for over 12 years. I also do private consultations and help connect individuals and couples with an agency that is right for what they are looking for. If you decide that you would like to explore the possiblity of adoption and get more information, I would be more than happy to talk with you further. Other than professionally, adoption has touched my life personally, and I can tell you that it is a wonderful thing! I have seen first hand how it has transformed the lives of so many people. I wish you all the best L., and if you decide that you want to explore this as a possible way to build your family I would love to talk with you. Please feel free to call me at ###-###-####.

All the best to you.

J.

First off, Congratulations on being a survivor! This may come as a surprise to you, but you are absolutely not alone! I was diagnosed with Hodgkins 8 1/2 years ago toward the end of my first pregnancy (I had a beautiful baby boy). One month after he was born, I started with the testing and was stage 2. I went through 4 months of ABVD treatment (every 2 weeks) followed by 3 weeks of daily radiation treatment. We actually waited until I hit the 5-year point to start trying again. The good news is that since then I have been pregnant twice (unfortunately one was ectopic), and at 37 years old I brought my beautiful daughter into the world. So, yes, it is very possible. In fact I have another friend who has had two additional children post-chemo. You do have time left, granted not quite as long as you would have under normal circumstances, but I wouldn't worry. Just be patient. Even without all that you've been through (which is a lot), it sometimes takes a long time. If all else fails, talk to your gyn about it and/or go see a fertility specialist to be evaluated (they can tell you whether your egg production is ok). Good luck.
If you want to talk more off-line, send me message.

You need to go back to the dr or clinic from whom you got the chemo and check with them. They may have to look it up and may not even know if that is a possible side effect.

However - running out of time? You have to be kidding. At 30? I didn't even start my family until age 32 and I have FIVE! Last one born at age 43; piece of cake. Time is not something you need to be concerned about for a long time.