Getting pregnant after 5 years of tamoxifen at the age of 41

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rflynn
rflynn Member Posts: 1
edited June 2014 in Young With Breast Cancer

I am about to complete five years of tamoxifen. I will be 41 and am contemplating trying to conceive once the 5 years are completed. My Onc would like me to stay on tamoxifen an additional 5 years. I have also made an appointment with a fertility doctor for testing and to educate myself better on chances of conceiving, though my Onc has already told me chances are low. My thoughts are if my chances are extremely slim to none, then i may not even get off of tamoxifen. From what I have researched thus far (which there is not a lot of published research on the topic), I perceive my egg reserve has been depleted by as much as 10 years (assuming I am 40 my egg reserve would be that of a 50 year old). It may be unrealistic for me to naturally conceive given having received chemo and my age when attempting conceiving. So then my thoughts turn to if I do not try to get pregnant, should i think about having a hysterectomy due to having had ER/PR+ cancer. Just a lot on my mind to think through.

Does anyone want to share their fertility stories, after chem pregnancy stories or fertility education on this topic(s).

Much appreciated:)

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  • GowanusGal
    GowanusGal Member Posts: 47
    edited May 2014

    Hi there, Thanks for starting this thread.  I am 40 and just post surgery and am trying to figure out about tamoxifen and babies. I have 2 already but wanted that third.  One MO suggested IVF.  I've decided against that but wanted to see if I could delay or take a pause on Tamoxifen to have a baby.  Basically what the MO and the gyno suggests is that I will be ancient at 45 (or even 42-43 to try for a baby) but I have this fantasy that I might do it anyway. From what the OB told me, my ovaries would DEFINITELY be f-ed by chemo (not sure if I will get chemo) but that with Tamoxifen, there is a chance, I might still ovulate and go back to my periods. 

    Your MO might suggest IVF and depending on your cancer stage/prog, that might not be a bad idea at your age (my age).  I figured can always do IVF later if I feel the need after 2 years on Tamox...

    Good luck with your research!

    Best,
    GG

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  • rgiuff
    rgiuff Member Posts: 1,094
    edited June 2014

    RFlynn, despite what any doctor may say, you really won't know if your ovaries are working unless you stop the tamoxifen and see what happens. Everybody seems to react differently to chemo and tamoxifen. Some have recovery of ovarian function and some don't. Sometimes being on tamoxifen can interfere with hormones and it can be difficult to know for sure whether menopause has arrived or not. Hopefully the fertility doctor you are seeing has experience with this type of situation. Good luck with your appt.

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  • gildedcage
    gildedcage Member Posts: 139
    edited June 2014

    One possible idea is to get your AMH levels tested right now. That will tell you how much of an egg reserve you have and how likely it is that you will be able to retrieve eggs through IVF. IVF is so expensive and there will be no promise that it will work but knowing the likelihood of realistically getting eggs during the retrieval process may help inform the decision.

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  • gildedcage
    gildedcage Member Posts: 139
    edited June 2014

    Also, check out the research on women with ER+ cancer and pregnancy after cancer treatment. You can Google it. It shows that women who had children after cancer treatment had no higher risk of recurrence than those who didn't. In general, most oncologists would suggest you wait at least 2 years after treatment before trying to get pregnant. They have found that if you have a recurrence, there is an 80% chance it will happen in the 2 years after your initial cancer treatment. Waiting the full 5 years of taking Tamoxifen is ideal but many oncologists feel comfortable with you just resuming Tamoxifen after you've had your child. There is always some risk involved but it's a measured risk. I'd see if it's possible to speak to a Oncofertility specialist to get the best information you can. I dealt with all this myself last year and worked with USC Fertility. This was the info that I got. 

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