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Fertility in Long Term Survivors

lrocamora
lrocamora CSN Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Young Cancer Survivors #1
Hi everyone-
I am 28 years old and a Hodgkin's survivor of 17 years. I had MOPP, ABV and 2 month of RT to my neck and abdomen. I have been married two years and trying to get pregnant for the last 8 months. Has anyone else had success? My Dr tells me not to worry until 1 year has past, but that's coming awfully soon. I really want to talk to someone about this.

lrocamora@gmail.com
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Comments

  • noah
    noah CSN Member Posts: 4
    #2
    had a baby girl 5 years later
    Hi lrocamora,

    I was very obviously sterile for at least the first 6-12 months post chemo. (I had about 1 year of various chemo for ewings sarcoma). After chemo, my wife and I didn't use birth control and assumed after 5 years that nothing was going to happen, but we now have a beautiful, perfect seven month old baby girl! Not sure if this clears things up, but my guess is that it took over a year for my fertility to even start to return, and probably even now its a bit low (we have a 7 year old son and it only took a couple of months of trying pre-chemo to get pregnant--compared to 5 years post chemo for our daughter).
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  • Hope 161
    Hope 161 CSN Member Posts: 1
    #3
    Fertility
    Hi everyone -

    I am 31 years old and a Hodgkin's survivor of 20 years. I had MOPP, but RT just to my chest. I then got TTP when I was 17 and am now a survivor of that for 14 years. It sounds comical, but this past December 2008, I developed Papillary Cancer (most likely due to the RT) and had to have my Thyroid removed. I've recovered remarkably well, and am now on synthroid -- all things considered, life could be worse.

    I've been married for 5 years and we want to have a baby. We've literally just started trying and I've been met with varying degrees of optimism from my doctors that I will be able to have a baby of my own.

    The catch now is that my FSH level is high - it's been at 26 the past two times they've tested me. I've been told point blank now that I am no longer a candidate for IVF because of my levels, but have also been told by the same doctor that theoretically I could still get pregnant on my own. I've done quite a bit of research on line and found that an FSH of 26, although high, doesn't mean that there's no hope. As I mentioned, my husband and I literally just started trying...

    I'm interested to know if anyone who has had Hodgkin's Disease, been through MOPP & radiation and has a "high" FSH level, has been able to use their own eggs and have their own baby. Any Doctors, Clinics, or Acupuncturist recommendations and / or certainly advice and shared knowledge on this topic would be most appreciated.
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  • irene511
    irene511 CSN Member Posts: 2
    #4
    i am a hodgkins survivor with 2 kids
    Hi, im 28 years and i had hodgkins when i was 12years, i had chemo and radiotherapy around my groin (over my ovaries). I had surgery to expore the area, and they moved my ovaries out behind organs to avoid infertility, but they told me i would never have a period or children. I fell pregnant at 24 years (i was not trying) and the doctors say that i was lucky that i had the cancer pre-puberty. They also said it was unlikely that i would have a second, they were wrong. I beleive that the fact that we were not trying both times had a lot to do with it. I continue to have lots of complications with bowel obstructions requiring surgery etc and even the c-sections were tricky, but its all good now.


    If you want to talk more email me at irene511@hotmail.com
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