IVF, Cancer and Us

Hi :) we are Claudia and Jonathan and we would like some help to fulfil our dream of becoming parents.

 

Our story was a happy normal one until 2018. Almost two years after we got married, I became pregnant at the beginning of the year. We were so thrilled with the blessing we were given - we were having normal conversations about names and what we would need, and my body was changing - including my breast, where I felt a lump, but in my head it was all normal and part of the process.

 

At twelve weeks, it was time for our first scan. We were so excited to see our baby for the first time, but unfortunately there was no heartbeat. At that moment, our dream fell apart. I went through the process of miscarriage, initially with pills given by the nurses. I ended up in the hospital for a couple of days for pain management, and after that, we thought all had been expelled…but that was not the case - my body was protecting that baby, and a few days after, I was already back at home and I had to pull out the amniotic sac which was still intact. I can barely explain what was going on in my head. In the end, I had to have surgery to remove the rest. It was a horrible experience but we thought we would move on and try again.

 

But the lump in my breast was still there.

 

After some time denying the inevitable, I went to my GP, and a few tests later the worst was confirmed - breast cancer.

 

The treatment plan was to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and hormone therapy, to start as soon as possible. We were allowed to go through a cycle of IVF before the treatment to freeze some eggs - unfortunately, this did not work: only one egg was collected and was genetically immature. Nothing more could be done at that stage, as I had to start my cancer treatment.

 

I kept working through all my treatment, and that helped me - sometimes I still ask myself how I managed to do that. I never told my parents - I didn't want them to suffer because of me and my situation. And they didn’t - until today my mum doesn't know anything. Unfortunately, my dad passed away just before Christmas in that same year when I was almost finishing my chemo treatment. To protect my mum, I didn't go to the funeral…she could not see me how I was. Living in a different country allowed me to protect them, but I will never be able to overcome the fact that I did not say a last goodbye to my dad.

 

I kept fighting - I did chemo, radio and I had surgery. All went well and I had a complete response to the treatment. I was having hormone therapy for a while and then I stopped this medication to try for a baby. As this wasn't happening naturally, our GP referred us to a fertility clinic, where we were told it wouldn’t happen and our only option was to go through IVF egg donation and request NHS funding. The doctor applied for it and seven months later I received a call saying the request was denied because, although it was different, we had had one cycle of IVF before the cancer treatment.

 

We got lost again…it felt like wave after wave...we kept swimming and we kept our heads above the water but something else came to drag us down.

 

But after nearly ten years of being together, we know we can lift each other and keep fighting. We are strong and once again we are keeping our heads up. But this time we need your help.

 

We would need to do this in a private clinic as this is our last chance to have a family, but we do not have the money. We will need to do this as soon as possible because to avoid the cancer from coming back, I will need to go back to having hormonal therapy - but I am still risking and I am still fighting for a chance to have our family and our little one.

 

Can you please help us? Any donation, no matter how small, would mean the world to us after a few tough years. We just want one more chance to have a baby to care for and to cherish.

 

We are grateful for you taking to the time to read our story. Even if you are unable to help us, we would really appreciate it if you could share it.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Claudia and Jonathan