Well I am getting Chemo right now.
I saw my oncologist and she said that the thought of preserving fertility while curing or treat cancer is a new concept. So they are in uncharted waters. She did contact a radiation oncologist and they said that I could have surgery to move my ovary then have a silicon implant filled with saline put in to move my uterus off to the side so that my lymph nodes could be radiated with little (hopefully) impact on my reproductive health. There is also a chance that I could have proton therapy instead of just regular radiation. This is not as likely to effect other organs as much as radiation can.
However right now I could have big time scarring because I used to have large lymph nodes and now I don’t. So that can interfere with my reproductive health as well. Scarring can make it so the uterus can’t expand but it can also be treated with laproscopic surgery.
On the other hand I could also get another 2 rounds of chemo. However this could be bad for my general health in that one of the drugs that I take, is bad for the heart. Heart disease is in my family (my grandfather had 6 bypass surgery and years later ended up dying of a massive heart attack and other family members have issues). So I would have to have a real chance at this curing me before I would do this.
I am also back to not cycling again for 2 years after I go into remission (that would put me at roughly May 2012). However at this point I would just like to be able to cycle again.
I will be meeting with the radiation oncologist hopefully on April 6. I want to find out exactly what my options are here before getting a second opinion. However if they are able to assure me that I will not need to worry about my uterus then I may not go to get a second opinion.
In other news it is a nice day outside today and we are hoping that we can get out of here so that we can let Max play outside a bit today. Max had lots of fun outside yesterday.
We are hoping that I will feel good this weekend so we can get the things we need to build part of the fence that was taken down last year when we replaced our driveway. I will be sure to take pictures of that because we are building this fence on our own.
Talk to you soon!
Jennifer
Wow, Jennifer, you sure have alot to take in and weigh. At least it does sound like there is some hope that you will be able to carry a baby again. I will keep praying for that option to come true.
Enjoy the gorgeous weather. We are having it too!
Rowena
Jennifer, (and Tony),
I am having a very difficult time understanding how preserving fertility while undergoing chemo or radiation could POSSIBLY be a new concept in the medical world! Are you living in the part of New Jersey that is directly linked by a wormhole to the Dark Ages? I mean, come on! Jennifer cannot POSSIBLY the only woman of child-bearing age to have lymphoma. I am starting to feel like this oncologist is off of his rocker. Please go and get the second opinion. Move out of the wormhole.
My situation is quite similar, except that my NHL was in my cervix, which was a very RARE presentation. I did chemo and radiation – and we did a quickie IVF cycle pre chemo. I was never able to get pregnant with those embryos – the radiation caused too much damage to my uterus (lining issues). I had my ovaries transposed which means I still have hormones, which is good.
My DD was born via a gestational carrier and we feel very lucky to have her.
Fertility preservation and cancer is still a tricky area – a lot of things need to be weighed in making those decisions. I was diagnosed 6 years ago and luckily, my oncologist was really on the ball.
Anyway, hang in there. It’s a tough road but one that can be conquered.