October is the month dedicated to the fight against Breast Cancer. A fight that we at IVI have joined for many years through raising awareness. And it is that oncological treatments -chemo and radiotherapy- can affect the ovarian reserve. But techniques such as oocyte preservation for oncological reasons can be very helpful in not giving up motherhood. The 59 babies born at IVI to patients who have overcome breast cancer are hopeful.
The importance of awareness and information
“It is essential that, at the traumatic moment of diagnosis, the patient receives rigorous and holistic medical information that takes into account different transcendental aspects of a woman’s life, such as her desire to be a mother, and that empathizes with her and your needs. The cancer patient, in addition to being informed, must be listened to. Our goal at IVI is that no woman has to give up motherhood due to cancer and lack of information”explains Dr. Javier Domingo, coordinator of the IVI cancer preservation program and director of IVI Las Palmas.
Fertility preservation for oncological reasons
As we said, at IVI we have a specific program for gamete vitrification –both oocytes and spermatozoa- in cancer patients. Because yes, at the time of diagnosis your whole world is focused on that, but motherhood can be a plan for the future and with the help of science you don’t have to give it up.
“Published data on the follow-up of patients who have been stimulated to freeze oocytes show the same survival results as those who have not. Ovarian stimulation to obtain oocytes to be vitrified does not affect the evolution of the cancer, especially since all the steps of the process are coordinated with the oncologist, to adjust and control the medication, so that it does not influence the subsequent oncological treatment that is given. go to subdue the patient. We must understand the vitrification of oocytes as a window of opportunity for our patients and not as a bump in the road to cure cancer”, adds Dr. Domingo
Letter from a breast cancer patient
I always wanted to be a mother. Ever since I was little, it was something I always dreamed of. As an adult, time passed and due to life circumstances, I was postponing it. Whether it was for giving priority to the professional, for lack of stability in the couple, for changes of course or for never finding “the ideal situation”. I couldn’t make up my mind. Until, from one day to the next, life decided for me.
My name is Laura, I am 40 years old and only 6 months ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s still hard for me to even name it. My whole world came to a standstill the very day I received the news, and yet I began a process that I experienced dizzyingly. It is now, looking back, when I begin to be aware of everything I have been through. After a long period of continuous appointments, numerous tests, two operations, recoveries, rehabilitation, a radiotherapy treatment and a hormonal therapy treatment (with which I will continue for the next 5 years)… I think I can say that I am getting over it. Although I begin to realize that this is, and will be, a real long-distance race.
Facing a cancer diagnosis without giving up the desire to be a mother
“Have you ruled out being a mother?”, I heard in the first consultation with the gynecologist. My heart sank. “Absolutely not,” I answered mentally. Overwhelmed by the information that came to me, I did not fully understand the reason for the question, until they clarified that, if I wanted to be a mother, I had to preserve my ovules in case the adjuvant treatments prevented it.
That day I fell apart. The world fell over me. Not only did she have to face and take on a disease as feared as cancer, but the possibility of becoming a mother was at stake. The very idea of having to close the door on motherhood forever terrified me, as much or more than cancer itself.
I decided for this reason and, without hesitation, to go to IVI, recommended by my doctors. And now I know that it is the best decision I could have made.
First steps towards motherhood
I remember arriving the first day at the clinic with a fear that I had never experienced. She was disoriented, lost, still in shock. But once there, everything was easy and friendly. When you are in a situation of such vulnerability and fragility, finding yourself in a consultation with smiling and empathic eyes that look at you, a warm voice that attends to you and explains carefully, and words that convey security and confidence that everything will be fine … Someone to encourage you is all you need. And that’s what I found there, in Dr. Elisa Gil. Thanks to her, I regained hope and found something to hold on to. A ray of light at a time when I only saw darkness.
I carried out the preservation treatment of my oocytes, while undergoing several operations. Despite the difficulties, I know that it was precisely doing what sustained me and gave me strength during all that time. Elisa and the entire team that surrounds her made the road less hostile and much more bearable thanks to the encouragement, care, affection and care with which they treated me. I will never forget.
They made me feel in each visit the most important thing: that the effort was worth it. And he deserved it.
Currently, for medical reasons, I cannot get pregnant. I won’t be allowed to interrupt treatment for another 2 years, but it gives me great peace of mind to know that my eggs are waiting for me there, at IVI, for when I can finally try. At least I know I still have a chance. And I am certain that, in the near future, if I decide to become a mother, I would like to realize this dream with the same people who accompanied me in the worst moments, making them more beautiful. I can’t imagine a better team.
Grateful… to life
Thanks to IVI Zaragoza and its director, Dr. José Serna, for their generosity and welcome in the cancer preservation program.
Thank you, Elisa, for your serenity, your know-how and for taking me by the hand and not letting go until the end.
Thank you, Laura, for your support between dates, for the laughs and the complicity.
Thanks to my “guardian angel”, Dr. Virginia Roy, and to the entire medical team of the Miguel Servet Gynecology Breast Unit, for making me feel safe in your hands.
Thanks to my friends and friends, for listening, love, respect and accompaniment. You are the best and most valuable thing I have.
Thanks to my family for being that great pillar that supports everything. I cannot conceive my life without you.
And finally, thanks to life, for letting me continue here.
