Having a baby post TNBC treatment... to do or not to do
Hello all!
I am hoping that someone may have experience or knowledge about this topic as I am not able to find a lot of good information regarding having a baby post cancer treatment for TNBC. My husband and I are on the fence about having another baby and I feel like the more information we can obtain the better we will feel about our decision either way. I will try to keep this short but want to be sure to include all the important points. Thanks in advance for any thoughts, information, and tid bits you may be able to pass along!
I was 32 yo when diagnosed with Stage 2 triple negative breast cancer last year following the conclusion of breastfeeding my then 20 month old daughter (she hung onto some night feedings making finding the lump sooner impossible). Once diagnosed, I underwent chemotherapy first (AC and then Carbo/Taxol) for 6 months. At the beginning of chemo I also started to get monthly Zoladex injections to "properly" shut down my ovaries in hopes to preserve my fertility. I did not harvest eggs prior to treatment starting. Everything I have been told by my oncologist and OB/GYN is that due to my cancer being non-hormone driven, there is not an increased risk to have subsequent children. Due to being TN I am not needing to take ongoing medications which would eliminate my window to have children as well. While TNBC is not hormone driven I have been told and read that it is more common in pregnant and postpartum women so I do wonder what another pregnancy may trigger (?). I completed chemo, double mastectomy (complete pathological response shown in pathology- lymph nodes removed) and competed 25 radiation treatments. I tested negative for BRCA and other tested genetic markers.
I am unable to find a lot of information in books and online that could discuss this topic further (most just say to ask your doctor) so I thought I would throw this question to others...
-Have you had a child post-treatment for TNBC? What was your experience like?
- If so (or if decided not to), what were you advised by your oncologists and OB/GYNs on the matter? What was your leading deciding factor?
My husband and I are both unsure about this for many reasons at this time. Our daughter is a sweet and sassy 3yo now, I will be 34yo when I am 1 year post chemo (when I will be able to safely try for another child per my oncologist), and my husband will be 38yo. We always planned to have two children, but I did not anticipate having cancer at the age of 32, and I feel like that may have changed some of our thoughts, priorities, and goals. My daughter was my best medicine through treatment and I just feel so blessed to have her at all. I feel like I need to use this time to collect as much information as I can so we can best make the decision we feel most comfortable with. If you have read all this, thank you! I appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter.
Thanks,
Stacey
Comments
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HI Stacey,
Welcome to the BCO community. We are so glad that you reached out here and suggest a few other pages to review. There is information on Fertility and Pregnancy as well as Pregnancy after Treatment. In addition you may want to check out the topics in the Young with Breast Cancer Forum. Stay connected here and keep us posted. Let us moderators know if there is anyway we can help you to connect with others .
The Mods
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Hi Stacey! I was reading through the boards and saw that nobody ever responded to your message, so I thought I'd share my story! I was diagnosed at age 32, 1 year after I had my first child. My doctors told me to wait 2 years to try again. When I got closer to the 2-year mark, I went for some fertility testing to see how my eggs were looking after the chemo. I did not freeze any eggs at the time of my diagnosis because I figured what was meant to be, was meant to be....and I already had a perfect son that I was lucky to have. So at the fertility testing, the doctors told me that I didn't have many eggs that survived the chemo and the ones I had didn't look to be in great shape. They said that I'd definitely need some help from them, and they couldn't even guarantee that being successful. So I figured I was in for a rough few months/years ahead. The plan was to start fertility treatments in November. In October, I told my husband....let's just try this month just to say that we did, on our own. And if it doesn't work, then we'll start the treatments next month. Well...literally days before I was to start treatments, I found out I was pregnant! Nobody could believe it! And as happy as I was to be pregnant, now I started to get worried. I started to wonder, since my eggs didn't look good on the ultrasounds, how would this baby develop? Would I have any issues with the baby or my pregnancy? I had had a double mastectomy with a tram flap surgery- now I started getting freaked out that my stomach wouldn't be strong enough to hold a baby with all of the surgery I'd had two years prior. Months went by and every scan came out perfect, and every checkup successful. 9 months later, I had another beautiful baby boy. He's now 3.5 and still perfect! He's my miracle. Now the only bad thing is that when he was 1, I had a new primary cancer develop (not a recurrence they said). Crazy coincidence that both of my boys were 1 when I was diagnosed, but triple neg doesn't feed on hormones, so it shouldn't have had anything to do with the pregnancy.
What is your status now? Pregnant? Trying? Good luck to you! It can happen!!!
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Thank you for sharing your story! It's always so nice to hear what other people have been through, been told, and have experienced, especially in such a personal way. At this time we have decided that we are happy with our family as it is with our daughter (who will be 4 in May). I am not letting my cancer history drive this decision (would not let it have that power over me) and can say it is a decision that we are happy with. Thank you very much for taking the time to share with me (and other readers!)!
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You're welcome
Glad to hear you're happy with your decision!
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