A lot of women struggle with fertility — imagine trying to have a baby after cancer, when you thought you may never be able to.
Lauren Chiarello thought she’d never be able to have children naturally after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. She even had some of her eggs frozen in case she might want to have children later in life. Now, years later, Lauren and her husband are expecting two twin babies to be born this coming February.
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“I froze my eggs in 2009 when the procedure was still considered experimental, hoping that science would progress. At age 24, the doctors told me it was very likely I'd lose my fertility + go into early menopause. I kept the faith. Last year, we had an ectopic pregnancy. Emergency surgery was needed at 8 weeks, removing my right Fallopian tube. #wanderingsoul.”
But after a long journey, Lauren is pregnant with twins, and she could not be more grateful that she and her husband are about to be parents.
Information about preserving fertility after a cancer diagnosis
If you’re a young woman diagnosed with cancer, you are likely concerned about your future prospects for having children. Chemotherapy and radiation can harm your eggs but there are many options for fertility preservation. Chief among them: freezing your eggs for future use or fertilizing the eggs and freezing the embryos.
Jaime Knopman on preserving fertility after cancer
It’s important to be your own advocate and discuss the options with your doctor, says Dr. Jaime Knopman, Director of Fertility Preservation at CCRM NY. Studies have shown that as many as 50 percent of women across the country are not informed about what they can do to preserve fertility before undergoing cancer treatment.
A cancer diagnosis doesn’t always mean you can’t have children.
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