Fertility

[Lexi Chopp]

I know I'm not at a point in my life where I want to have children. Let me begin with that in this brief post.

However, I feel like I need to start worrying about things in case my body has more fertility function now than it will in 5 or 8 or 10 years when I am seriously considering it.  16 years ago there weren't many protective measures taken to preserve the fertility of a 5 year old. Has anyone else experienced issues or addressed their own fertility and had success or advice for other long-term survivors?

[Lexi Chopp]

Thanks for the encouragement, Janell - that means a lot. I know that there are certainly many ways to have a family and am open to all of them, just a very "big girl" step to have to accept the impossibility of doing everything on my own. I'm not there yet, but the reality is certainly frightening sometimes.

Amy - one thing that I have been told is that being younger is almost a benefit in terms of how fertility is effected by treatment. It has to do with the fact that the organs and hormones are truly underdeveloped at that point and so there really isn't much there to have to protect. I can't say this for everyone, but know my mom has been told so before. I'm happy to be a resource if need be,

[Amy Waggoner]

I worry about this a lot with my 5 year old who will be finishing up chemotherapy at the end of May. I want her to grow up happy and not having to miss out on anything because of her cancer.

[Janell Strang]

Lexi,
I am an almost 18 year survivor of AML and had a bonemarrow transplant. As I type this I'm looking into the eyes of my three month old baby boy. Im also the very lucky mom to a 9 year old a 5 year old 4 year old and one very spunky 3 year old. My first 4 children were adopted. I shared my story because I was told that my chances of conceiving and carrying a baby full term were less than 0.01 percent chance. I share my story to give you hope and let you know that there is more than one way to have a family. I forget that I didn't give birth to my other children.

[Lexi Chopp]

I've actually gone to a fertility clinic recently and there are lab tests they can do.  If you're getting serious about it it's definitely worth checking out.  I've really just scratched the surface of exploring it but am curious about others' thoughts and experiences.

[Allison DeSoto]

I actually have been thinking about this for some time now. It didn't seem important at the time that I was going through chemo..fertility was the last of my worries while fighting for my life. But now in the after math the thought comes to mind a lot. I was wondering if it is even possible to go to the doctor to see if I am fertile or not. If so I would like to know, because the uncertainty is worse that dealing with the answer. I'm glad you brought this up because I'd like to know people's experiences with it too!