Has anyone had IVF or other fertility treatment?

i did ivf before diganosis and hope to do it again if my periods return, there is a ovarian camcer risk but it is quite small, as they force your ovaries to become over active to produce many follicles to maturity instead of the one in a natural cycle. there are many follicles produced every month but there is only one (two in famile twining) that continues to grow and develop the egg until the body releases lh signalling the follicle to burst, the corpus liethuem then produces progesterone to thicken the womb lining to get it ready for implantation and usually 10 days after ovulation the hormones start to drop and the womb lining is shed circa 14 days after ovulation, starting the next period which is day 1 then on day 3 you should get your fsh level tested, low is good and an indication of a good reserve, anything below 10 is good, 10 - 12 not great and after that difficult to stimulate for ivf purposes. there are other tests such as ultrasound of the ovaries and amh testing. but the fsh is a good place to start.

best of luck with it, the injections are the easy part of ivf, its the rollercoaster of emotions that are hard, some days hope and other days despair, each step on it is very difficult and only 1 in 3 sucesses and lots and lots of money spent on a dream that we still share. the young survival colation have a thread on babies after cancer that may give insight, also a very good ivf website is www.rollercoaster.ie fertility issues thread and donor conception thread. i had the breast cancer before the ivf but did not know it, they thought it was a fibrodemna , so it did not cause me to get cancer.

Susie,

that is lovely, what a nice suprise to get, the cancer is a bugger but i dont think that it is related to the ivf considering there are so many that get breast cancer that have never had ivf. the hormone recipent nature of the cancer is a worry but your oncoligist in general errs on the side of caution so would tell you not to go ahead if they thought there was anything remaining. Do ye not have to go through counselling before embarking on the baby making route as we were told we had to go for it to discuss things like what if i am not around to bring uo the child etc.

but personally i dont think they can advise you on one side to live your life as normal without undue worry but be vigilant and yet on the other side advise you not to have children as that is really living life as if it will come back and claim you.

mayby i am for the birds but i really want the chance to be a mammy.

I have just started IVF, before I begin neoadjvant chemo.  I have discussed IVF and all the drugs and hormones involved, with my Onc. & BS, and they both gave me the go ahead.  Because they will be giving Letrozole to help keep estrogen levels low.

I am very excited that I may have a chance at getting pregnant after my treatments are done!  It's definately something positive to look forward to!

I had IUI (medicated) 6 times and 6 IVFs. I used lots of meds. My last IVF (trying for #2) was June of 09 and I was diagnosed with BC in aug 09. Interestingly, I had ER/PR- breast cancer. My doctors say there is no link, but of course I wonder. They say it is more likely that my pregnancy accelerated the cancer growth. My daughter was 18 months old when I was diagnosed.

Even if the fertility meds caused my breast cancer I am not sorry I did it. My daughter is the best thing in my life.

Hi girls.  I hate to be the one to throw in bad news, but I definitely think my fertility treatments played a role in me getting breast cancer.  I also have a blog and other girls have contacted me saying they think fertility drugs played a role in their cancers too.  If the fertility drugs weren't directly responsible for the cancer, then I definitely think they helped fuel the growth and make it spread (lymph nodes positive at diagnosis).  I never did IVF but did several rounds (maybe 6) of Prometrium and Clomid, following about 12 years on the pill.  I was diagnosed with borderline stage 3 HER2+ ER+ IDC last March right after a miscarriage.  But I do have good news.  It may not be for everybody, but I will tell you adoption has fulfilled me 100% and I couldn't be more happier.  We adopted a baby boy in November (he's 10 months now) after my favorable pathology results after chemo and surgery.  He is the cutest sweetest little scrumptious and looking back, I truly believe the fertility drugs caused the cancer, but in the end the cancer led us to adoption and eventually our son, so I guess they worked but in an indirect way.  Here's my blog for more info: www.daniellemurray.wordpress.com Hope it helps!  And no matter what you decide, I wish you the best! 

In case anyone is interested you may still be able to have a baby that is genetically yours without the pregnancy. I am considering surrogacy for #2. They use almost no estrogen, sometimes tamoxifen for IVF stim. NYU is a pioneer in breast cancer IVF. You may be able to use your own eggs and husbands sperm. The total cost is similar to adoption. One intersting site to check out is surromomsonline.com.

Unfortunately, I would have to say that I definitely believe my IVF and FET was a direct cause of my breast cancer.  My IVF was done in January of 2003.  I conceived and delivered a healthy baby girl at 36 weeks.  In February of 2006 I did a FET.  My BC dx was in May of 2006. I was 35 y/o.  My FET didn't work.

I have three friends that have also done IVF and now have breast cancer.  Elizabeth Edwards, another one.  I am sure there are many, many more of us out there.  In fact, I am so certain of a correlation, that I have contacted an attorney in NYC to discuss the potenial for a lawsuit against the drug manufacturers. Think about the huge drop in BC rates after it was released that Premarin and Prempro can cause it.  Docs started taking their patients off it and boom...BC rates dropped dramatically.  Premarin and Prempro are hormone combo meds...estrogen and a type of progesterone.  The exact drugs that are used in IVF.

Now, having said all that I can definitely say I don't regret doing IVF, nor would I have chosen not to do it had I known the risks.  I needed to have a family to feel whole, and now I do.  However, we should be told there are risks so that women that have a strong family history of BC can chose a different option to have their family.  So that we can be more proactive with pursuing a baseline mammogram and have them done every 6 months during infertility treatment.  Fertility docs should just do a mammo as a prerequisite to the treatment process.

Hope that doesn't upset anyone, but for me...I am convinced.  Good luck to all of you wonderful women in pursuit of your dreams and to be living with NED!!  

My doctors said my fertility treatments had nothing to do with my BC but I find that hard to believe. I have a friend who works at an alternative treatment cancer center and she said most of the women there with BC have done fertility treatments.

I doubt they will ever do a study to prove it. Fertility treatments are a huge business.

I had my daugther through IVF in 2007 first cycle and had another 2 more rounds of IVF trying for baby #2 (1 fresh cycle and another FET) in 2010 and 2011. My diagnosis was in Jan 2012...I have considered if it has been IVF and concluded there are multiple factors :

• Late first pregnancy at 37
• Work stress
• Having young kids at a later age will mean lack of adequate rest physically
• family history with mom as BC survivor
• Lack of me time to heal mentally and physically

Nevertheless, no regrets to have my daugther thru IVF as she is the meaning of my life and my resolve to fight this all the way. Ironically I am meeting my Fertility Dr/Gynae for review before I start my Tamoxifen. All the best and lots of baby dusts for a successful IVF...so long as your BS and Fertility ok the go ahead. Life is a journey of odds...have positive thoughts and go with your gut withever way you decide. If you are not at all comfortable with risks factors, consider Adoption as all kids are joy to our life. Good luck!

The latest research suggests that pregnancy does not increase the risk of recurrence. During pregnancy estrogen levels go up, it is true, but so do progesterone levels. Having a child and breast feeding is protective against getting BC in the first place, so it stands to reason (IMO) that having a child afterwards would not increase your risk.

 My oncologist knew from the first time I saw him that I wanted to have a child. He respected my choice to do fertility  preservation before chemo, and my choice not to take hormonal therapy after chemo and radiation. My son is 6 months old and my recent mammogram and ultrasound (3 years after diagnosis and surgery) was clear.

We will always have a higher risk of getting BC again than girls who have never had it. But there is no evidence that pregnancy will increase our risk. There are oncologists who understand we are people who want happy lives, not just bodies which have had cancer cells removed.  That's the kind of oncologist you want!!

I also did IVF after surgery and before chemo. I am actually having my retrieval tomorrow so fingers crossed!

All my docs were in agreement that it was OK for me to do IVF, especially since I was starting chemo right after. I also took Femara so that my estrogen levels did not get out of control.