Fertility Struggles & Moving Forward After Cancer
- Erin Andrews, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer during a routine screening in 2016 and treated the disease with surgery, welcomed her first child into the world with her former NHL player husband Jarret Stroll last year. Now, more than one year into motherhood, Andrews admits she needs to work on her “patience” in her relationship with her husband.
- Cervical cancer begins in the cells lining the cervix the lower part of the womb (uterus). Treatment options for cervical cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. HPV (human papillomavirus), a sexually-transmitted virus, causes more than 70% of cervical cancer cases.
- Doctors should bring up fertility preservation with every woman of childbearing age before she starts cancer treatment. In Andrews’ case, she and her husband had already had frozen embryos before her diagnosis.
- In some cases after cancer treatment, women may have difficulty giving birth to a child or they may be unable to at all. Having someone else carry their baby, like Andrews, may be an option, either through surrogacy or a gestational carrier.
Speaking on a recent podcast episode of “Calm Down With Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson,” titled, “Trying to Practice Patience,” Andrews recounted how a recent wedding she attended left her thinking about how she needs more patience outside of work.
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She continued, “My patience has really never been there, but now it is invisible. And I catch myself being so fast to like, either jump on his a** or jump on anything … be like, I’m done. I’ve checked out. I don’t care.
“So, I’ve really tried to be like, ‘I love you, I appreciate you.’ Today he gave Mack a kiss and I was like, ‘Mom wants a kiss.’ So, today he called me and to check in and like, I’ve been running around since we got home. Howie is barking at a dog. He just had surgery. I’m worried about his stitches. And I’m like, ‘I’m at my wits end, I can’t do this anymore. And he’s like, ‘I love you. I’ll be home in 30.'”
Andrews then admitted that her response “didn’t help make my spouse’s life better.”
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She then said she needs to “work on my patience … especially with this [football] season coming,” adding, “Because I don’t sound fun to be married to right now. Got to be honest.”
Thompson then chimed in to offer some advice. “We’re going to help each other, because I think that you and I are both in the same boat when it comes to this. That we work really hard … we have multiple jobs … I think that we need to prioritize the relationship, like we always prioritize work. Like, if an email comes through about work … if the boss calls, we rush to do that.
“Lets try to keep each other or hold each other responsible or accountable for what we’re doing to prioritize our relationship because we have incredible men. But, I think you and I can both do a better job of not complaining about how busy and all the things we have going on. Because they have all the same things going on, they just don’t vocalize it the way we do.”
Expert Resources On Coping With Emotions & Relationship Advice
- ‘Strong in Cancer’: Navigating New Relationships and Motherhood While Fighting Cancer Is Challenging. We Offer Solutions.
- Body Image, Sex, and Adjusting to a New Normal After Cancer Treatment
- Fear, Anger, Anxiety: You’re Entitled To Your Emotions
- Stand-Up Comedian & Cancer Caregiver, Jesus Trejo Reminds Us That ‘Laughter is a Game-Changer’
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Erin Andrews’ Cervical Cancer Battle & Fertility Struggles
Erin Andrews was 38 when doctors detected cervical cancer during a routine pap screening in 2016. Since her diagnosis, she’s been a vocal advocate for women to stay current on their cancer screenings.
To treat her cancer, Andrews underwent two surgeries. Prior to surgery, she had In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to preserve her fertility.
Cervical cancer is detected via a pap smear test, which looks for early signs of cervical cancer. Nurse Practitioner Barbara Dehn told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “Many women think that a Pap smear checks for ovarian cancer, but it doesn’t. Pap smears detect only cervical cancer, not all gynecologic cancers.
“In fact, there is no test that detects ovarian cancer in its earliest stages, which is why two-thirds to three-quarters of women are diagnosed at a later stage, when the disease has spread to nearby tissues and organs.”
Expert Resources On Coping With Emotions & Relationship Advice
- ‘Strong in Cancer’: Navigating New Relationships and Motherhood While Fighting Cancer Is Challenging. We Offer Solutions.
- Body Image, Sex, and Adjusting to a New Normal After Cancer Treatment
- Fear, Anger, Anxiety: You’re Entitled To Your Emotions
- Stand-Up Comedian & Cancer Caregiver, Jesus Trejo Reminds Us That ‘Laughter is a Game-Changer’
Every year in the U.S., approximately 11,500 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Getting pap smears to detect for cervical cancer is critically important because an earlier diagnosis may mean a better prognosis and broader treatment options.
We’re glad to see Andrews, who began dating Stroll in 2012 and later married him in 2016, focusing on the changes she needs to make in order to have a healthy relationship with her husband, especially after a difficult fertility journey, a time when Stroll was incredibly supportive for her, and vice-versa.
Andrews opened up about her years-long IVF journey on Bulletin, in an essay titled “My seventh time doing IVF, I am not keeping it a secret anymore.”
In her informative essay, she bravely outlined the struggles she has faced with fertility, as she and her husband, who at the time were trying to conceive.
She explained she was trying to enjoy some downtime before NFL season kicks off, but it “has been challenging for me.” Andrews admitted she had been working long hours, and she also had to schedule IVF treatment.
“For those familiar, you know it’s a time-consuming and emotionally draining process. This is my 7th one, and I’ve been going through these treatments since I was 35 years old,” she continued.
The then-43-year-old, said her body was “stacked against” her, adding, “I have been trying to do IVF treatment for a while now, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it. Your body just doesn’t allow it.
“Every cycle is different in a woman’s body, so some months are better than others.” Andrews said that the scheduling difficulties made her question what’s most important, leaving her feeling as if she needed to choose between family and a career.
Prior to that, Andrews also opened up to Health in 2017 about how she previously had undergone IVF prior to her diagnosis, saying, “I had actually frozen my eggs before all this a couple of years back, just because it was all the rage. But it definitely took a serious turn for us. I’m not young, we don’t know when we’re gonna have a baby, we don’t know if this is going to come back.
“One thing I love my future husband for is that our oncologist said the smart thing to do would be to have some insurance waitingso we have frozen embryos because we’ve taken the steps. If we need ’em, we need ’em; and if we don’t, we don’t. We just wanna be smart. But it’s crazy, because these waiting rooms are packed!”
As for how she will handle both her career and family, Andrews exuded confidence in her ability to balance it all. And now she’s continuing to maintain a work-life balance as she works as a FOX NFL sideline reporter while raising her son Mack with her husband.
Understanding Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer begins in the cells lining the cervix, the lower part of the womb (uterus). Treatment options for cervical cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.
It’s important to note that HPV (human papillomavirus), a sexually-transmitted virus, causes more than 70% of cervical cancer cases.
Additionally, other risk factors like smoking can make you about twice as likely to get cervical cancer as those who don’t smoke.
Cervical cancer screening is critically important because an earlier diagnosis can mean a better prognosis with broader treatment options.
The American Cancer Society recommends that cervical cancer screening begins at age 25, and people aged 25 to 65 should have a primary HPV test, an HPV test done by itself for screening, every 5 years. If primary HPV testing is not available, however, screening may be done with either a co-test that combines an HPV test with a Papanicolaou (Pap) test every 5 years or a Pap test alone every 3 years.
The most common symptoms of cervical cancer can include:
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as bleeding after vaginal sex, bleeding after menopause, after douching, bleeding and spotting in between periods or having heavier or longer (menstrual) periods than usual.
- Unusual discharge from the vagina that may contain some blood and may occur between your periods or after menopause.
- Pain during sex.
- Pain in the pelvic region.
Having a Supportive Partner During a Cancer Battle
It’s no secret that fighting cancer can be extremely overwhelming, so having physical and emotional support during your battle is crucial. That being said, it’s very important to know your limits on what you can handle including relationships during treatment.
How to Navigate Relationships When Depression Hits – A Survivor’s Guide
“Going through treatment is a very vulnerable and emotionally exhausting experience,” licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin wrote in a column for SurvivorNet. “Noticing what you have strength for and what is feeling like too much… [is] extremely important to pay attention to as you navigate treatment.”
RELATED: Sex and Cancer: How to Communicate Your Desires & Fears and Create New Sexual Experiences
Dr. Strongin does note, however, that having people by your side during this “arduous chapter” of your life can be hugely beneficial.
“Studies have found consistently that loneliness is a significant risk factor for physical and mental illnesses and the trajectory of recovery,” she wrote. “Therefore, it will be important that you surround yourself with individuals who care and support you throughout your treatment.”
For actress and melanoma survivor Jill Kargman, cancer was a true test of the strength for her relationship. In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Kargman says the disease “is a great way to find out if you’re with the love of your life or a shithead.”
“I think it presses the fast forward button on getting to the bottom of that answer, because a lot of people in middle age are kind of at a crossroads, waiting for their kids to fly the coop,” Kargman said. “I think if you’re with someone who is not supportive and kind of emotionally checked out or doesn’t tell you you’re still beautiful with that, this might not be your person.”
Jill Kargman on Relationships and Cancer
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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