It was just supposed to be a fun, extended weekend trip with my husband.
It certainly wasnt supposed to be the day I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
This was not news I was prepared to hear.
I was 29, and my husband and I had been talking about starting a family together.
Suddenly, it felt like my whole future was in doubt.
But that statistic is a bit deceiving.
…
Its a bang out of cancer that starts in white blood cells, which are crucial for immune health.
For me, treatment would involve aggressive chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which would take 18 weeks.
That was a problem, because my husband and I knew we wanted kids.
We were readyI had even taken out myIUDsix months earlier.
I understand that not every woman with cancer who wants kids may want to do IVF.
Some may choose to become a mother in another way, such as adopting.
I was fortunate that I could.
For me, I instinctively felt that IVF was the right choice for me.
They are covering the freezing costs of my eggs for up to five years.
…
Going through IVF was rough.
I also saw the doctor every day to ensure the egg follicles were growing properly.
Fortunately, I was under sedation for that.
Now that my eggs were safely frozen, I could focus on cancer treatment.
A major setback
Two weeks after I finished freezing my eggs, I started cancer treatment.
Physically, chemo and immunotherapy took an immense toll on my body.
I had six rounds of treatment, each being three weeks long.
During the first week of each round, I would receive the actual treatment in the hospital.
The third week was spent recovering.
Often I was too tired to leave the couch.
But my family and friends were amazing, coming over just to sit with me.
It was draining emotionally, too.
I started seeing a therapist.
I had to get comfortable with the fact that I might die.
In turn, that made me think about how I wanted to make my living days wonderful and joyous.
I wanted to savor the days I did have.
I finished treatment in June 2018 and was considered to be cancer-free until a checkup in October 2018.
My doctor did a CT scan, which showed an ominous mass in my chest.
The surgery was scheduled for a few weeks later.
After the surgery, my doctor told me the news I was dreading: My cancer was back.
Shes become our little baby, someone the two of us can take care of together as a couple.
She also just brings us so much joy and that alone has been incredibly healing.
On January 22, 2019, I officially went into remissionjust over a year after my initial diagnosis.
When we got the news, I literally leaped out of my chair and hugged my oncologist.
Im 32 years old now and a lot of my friends have started having babies.
Im isolating apart from him, with Chloe.
But when the time is right, we know my frozen eggs are there waiting for us.
There is so much life out there for me, for us.
And Im really excited to live it, with my family.
As told to Emily Laurence.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
