Breast Cancer & IVF

Curious Alien

I'm 33 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in Jan '13. I've just had a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction 2 weeks ago. I'm from & live in Ireland, but had my diagnosis & treatment in the UK (NHS) because it happend to play out that way for various reasons work-related etc.

So, right now, I know how things work in the UK, I know what I've been offered and what's available to me down the line. I have my results appointment for treatment plan in a few days, and will start IVF to freeze embryos right away (all supplied by NHS) if chemotherapy is required.
Overall, everything has seemed very quick and efficient to me i.e. wk1 (scans/biopsy), wk2 (results/additional biopsy), wk3 (more results, surgery plan), wk4 (surgery prep), wk5 (mastectomy/reconstructive surgery).

I've been pretty impressed, and very glad to have IVF offered as I couldn't afford to pay for any of the above nor could I afford VHI or other health insurance in Ireland.

My question is this : given the same situation in Ireland, what might the timeline have been? And would I be offered free IVF before chemo as a matter of course? Would I have had the same opportunities in Ireland?
I am still in touch with my GP here and he has suggested I consider transferring my treatment back to Ireland for ease of delivery. But would I get the same treatment? Would I get better treatment here? I dunno - right now, I just consider myself lucky to be treated full stop.

What have other people's experiences been? I find it hard to find info online, or people my age who have yet to have children and in the same position with the need to protect their fertility.

Your time & input is much appreciated :-)

lonestargirl

Breast cancer guidelines are quite tight and all key dates (referred to a KPIs - key performance indicators, e.g. date of 1st chemo, date of diagnosis) are reported. HARI referral would be offered where possible, one of my friends didn't get to freeze her eggs as her chemo had to start immediately (not breast cancer),

CathyMoran

Curious Alien wrote: »

I'm 33 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in Jan '13. I've just had a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction 2 weeks ago. I'm from & live in Ireland, but had my diagnosis & treatment in the UK (NHS) because it happend to play out that way for various reasons work-related etc.

So, right now, I know how things work in the UK, I know what I've been offered and what's available to me down the line. I have my results appointment for treatment plan in a few days, and will start IVF to freeze embryos right away (all supplied by NHS) if chemotherapy is required.
Overall, everything has seemed very quick and efficient to me i.e. wk1 (scans/biopsy), wk2 (results/additional biopsy), wk3 (more results, surgery plan), wk4 (surgery prep), wk5 (mastectomy/reconstructive surgery).

I've been pretty impressed, and very glad to have IVF offered as I couldn't afford to pay for any of the above nor could I afford VHI or other health insurance in Ireland.

My question is this : given the same situation in Ireland, what might the timeline have been? And would I be offered free IVF before chemo as a matter of course? Would I have had the same opportunities in Ireland?
I am still in touch with my GP here and he has suggested I consider transferring my treatment back to Ireland for ease of delivery. But would I get the same treatment? Would I get better treatment here? I dunno - right now, I just consider myself lucky to be treated full stop.

What have other people's experiences been? I find it hard to find info online, or people my age who have yet to have children and in the same position with the need to protect their fertility.

Your time & input is much appreciated :-)

I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer when I was 32, the chance of saving my eggs was discussed but it was agreed that the time taken to freeze my eggs would have meant that I probably would not have survived past chemo. As it stands I am 38 now and am mother of two miracle children who are 20 and 34 months old - to be still alive alive is huge (as oesophageal cancer has a really low survival rate) but to be a mother of two is amazing.

helstar

Hi Curious,

I hope you are recovering well and getting back to normal. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of Nov 2010 and spent six weeks getting tests (in Ireland) some of which had to be repeated and I was given wrong information by the consultant on 2 occasions. After 6 weeks I asked to be referred to another surgeon as I was waiting to have the lumpectomy and was terrified that the cancer would spread to my lymph-nodes (which would have meant longer and more harsh chemotherapy).

I eventually got my operation in December but had to have another surgery in Jan because my margins from the first surgery weren't clear. I then had to wait for the results of the 2nd surgery before I could be referred to the oncologist. I began chemo mid Feb for 3 months and began my radiotherapy shortly after.

I was 33 at the time and asked about the possibility of freezing my eggs but was discouraged from doing so as it would delay my chemotherapy treatment. I was never offered IVF either. It looks as if your experience in the UK was much more efficient and straight-forward. The initial couple of months after my diagnosis were an absolute nightmare as my surgery was cancelled 3 times due to errors with scan readings (the PET scan in particular). It would appear that the UK are ahead of us in this respect so my advice would be to do a lot of research for changing from your current hospital as they seem to have offered an excellent service. Also, you would definitely be looking at much higher costs in Ireland than the UK for medication, IVF, post treatment consultations etc. I hope this helps a little