It’s hard to digest, but 12% of women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Chances are, either you, and/or several of your friends and family will experience this diagnosis, and the aftermath: treatment, chemo, radiation, fatigue, and potential surgery. And though more and more treatment options are becoming available, some of the most common treatments today for breast cancer may result in fertility problems. After having been through such a challenging ordeal, the news you may not be able to conceive is an especially devastating moment. Dreams dashed in an instant.
But, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean you are without options. In fact, there are several. Dr. Jennifer Litton, at EverydayHealth.com, discusses post-cancer infertility and fertility solution options in a recent article. Though she covers 5 options, including egg and embryo freezing, ovarian tissue freezing, ovarian suppression, surrogacy, and adoption, Litton left off one very innovative avenue women can choose: embryo adoption. It may be the right choice for you to create your family.
“The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children.” ~Unknown
A few things you may not know about Embryo Adoption as a potential post-cancer option for you:
Not to be rudimentary, but what is an Embryo?
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in an early stage of embryogenesis, or development. That may be a mouthful, but essentially, an embryo is a fertilized egg. It has DNA from two people and has the potential to develop into a fetus. Did you know there are an estimated 600,000+ embryos in frozen storage in the US. That’s a lot of little lives awaiting their time to grow.
Why is Embryo Adoption a good option for you?
Prior to your treatment, you may not have even thought about freezing your eggs. Perhaps you didn’t have the time to delay treatment, or perhaps fertility options were simply too expensive. Then, after slaying cancer, you received the news that you are infertile and your eggs are no longer viable. You weren’t able to ‘plan ahead’ and freeze eggs, but you’re now ready to become a mom.
Embryo adoption gives you the chance to give life to a child when your cancer treatment would otherwise prevent it. More good news: Embryo adoption doesn’t require you to do any long term planning before cancer treatment. Instead, now that you’re healthy and medically cleared to become pregnant, you can begin the adoption process of one of the over 600,000 frozen embryos currently in storage in the United States. While there are fees involved in the embryo adoption process, they are considerably less than In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), making embryo adoption an affordable alternative.
Just shy of her 32nd birthday, Stephanie felt a lump in her right breast. Married a little over a year, she and her husband hoped it was nothing. But, it wasn’t. A full mastectomy, chemo and radiation treatment left her unable to conceive, yet she had always known she was destined to be a parent. Stephanie and her husband applied for embryo adoption and were paired with a couple seeking a great family for their remaining embryos. In 2017, she will be a 4-year survivor, and she’s a proud mom of a baby boy.
So, take a deep breath. This could be the chance at motherhood you thought cancer had taken from you.
If you’d like to learn more about embryo adoption, visit EmbryoAdoption.org.
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