defy the odds

When I made the decision to pursue fertility information, I literally had NO idea where to start. Until now, my trust had been 100% in my oncologist. To make a deliberate leap of faith and go against his advice has been a huge challenge for me. Once I was able to separate my emotions from my diagnosis, I methodically decided to move forward on my own.

Ironically enough it was Twitter that provided me with a path to start on. I follow many breast cancer organizations and research groups on Twitter. One of them posted about the new Basser Research Center in Pennsylvania. It is the first & only BRCA1/2 research center in the United States and just opened this fall. I could not believe it -- a research center just for my specific problem. If nothing else, it gave me HOPE for my daughter's future {as we will not know for many years to come if she is a carrier of my same mutation}. I decided to go out on a limb and email the executive director. I gave her the cliff-notes version of my case and asked for some {any} fertility advice. I didn't really expect her to reply, but felt better knowing I'd shared my story with someone who has the ability to make a difference & help others like me. Much to my amazement, she replied:

"Anne,

Thank you for your email.

I am out at a conference, but will call you by the end of the week. Neither your breast cancer diagnosis nor your BRCA2 status alone is a contraindication for future pregnancy."

I must've spent a good 10 minutes just staring at that email in complete disbelief. Was this really happening?! A nationally renowned expert in my specific case was telling me not to be discouraged. Well she kept her word and called me the very next day. After a 30-minute long conversation, her final words to me were emphatically "You WILL have another baby". I thanked her profusely for her time, hung up, and collapsed into a pile of sobs. It was such a relief to release those tears; bitterness, confusion, and hurt that had built up over the past year. I could not believe what I had just heard-- finally, a ray of HOPE! Someone giving me good news. Not just anyone, the expert with intense knowledge in the subject. To me she was a guardian angel sent by God.

Her advice to me was to seek out a second opinion from a colleague of hers that she trusted. She told me that when she got my email while at the conference , she then stepped into an elevator and ran into this colleague she had in mind to refer me to. She proceeded to tell him about my email and said she'd be sending me his way. Is that not at God thing?! I don't think it's a coincidence. So I met with this other oncologist at UT Southwestern in Dallas. He echoed in her same sentiments that it would probably be okay to attempt a pregnancy after at least 2 years. His words to me were "Well no one wants to get breast cancer, but if you're going to get it, you had the best case scenario". Again, more hope. 

In addition, my gynecological oncologist admitted to me she could not give me any answers regarding fertility {as it is not her expertise}. She agreed to put in a call to an OBGYN at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital in New York. His expertise is women with the BRCA mutation & pregnancy. She presented my case to him and his advice was to wait 2 years, but that I was probably ok to carry a pregnancy. His recommendation was to meet with an RE to discuss the best way to attempt to get pregnant.

This led to a consultation with a reproductive endocrinologist to look into my current fertility situation after having been through chemo. Apparently my body is nothing short of a medical miracle because after every test was run and every procedure done, I am in complete working order to get pregnant. Everything is working just fine!

So the bottom line is: it's not a question of CAN I get pregnant, I can. It is more a concern of taking the {unknown} risk of carrying a pregnancy and what that could mean for a future recurrence of cancer. Unfortunately that is where I fall into a gray area-- there is little to no research for my circumstances. 

That's where faith steps in and takes over:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

-Hebrews 11:1