**UPDATE!**

We are so excited to share with everyone that during the past six months, after lots of searching and “surrogate speed dating” that we found the woman who is going to help hopefully make our dream of becoming parents come true! A surrogate attorney advised me to join some Facebook groups to match surrogates and intended parents, and I am so glad I did! The journey this far has had its ups and downs consisting of lots of testing (both physical and mental), legal power and very very expensive insurance due to her or I not being able to use either of our current health care plans to cover a surrogate pregnancy - who knew they wouldn’t cover it if it’s not you the one who is giving birth to your own child! But we are finally here. If all things go as planned (which if I have learned ANYTHING through cancer, IVF and now surrogacy, nothing is guaranteed) we are set to transfer one of our embryos next month.

On the health front, I have been receiving the monthly injections that keep me in medically induced menopause and continuing with the hormone therapy medications. I had routine scans back in May, where they noticed some scarring on my left lung due to radiation treatments. My team will continue to monitor the spot, as it's not causing any difficulty breathing as of now. I also began blood draws for a newer "technology" that tests for circulating tumor DNA. Essentially, they take a blood sample and compare it to the original tumor to see if there is any residual disease in the bloodstream that scans cannot detect. This allows them to predict a reoccurrence before it happens or can be detected on scans. It is so new that they don't have a standard of care plan established for a positive result! But there are trials in the works right now, which is promising. So far my first two tests have returned negative for any tumor DNA which was great news! However, I will be doing these blood draws every three months for about three years, so the celebration is a little short-lived.

We were so blessed with the donations made earlier in the year! But again, surrogacy has a hefty price tag and we have run into some unexpected costs like the expensive insurance plan, minor surgeries etc. We would be so appreciative of any more donations that can be made towards baby Rose!

**Jon & Rachel**

Hi there! My name is Rachel and I was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 20th, 2021 at the age of 34. I have no family history and tested negative for any genetic mutations that have been directly linked to breast cancer. Needless to say, this came out of left field.

 

Since I am not old enough (40 years+) to qualify for regular screenings, self exams were not necessarily something on my radar either. Luckily, my husband (Jon) happened to find my lump by chance, which saved my life. We caught it in the earlier stages and with surgery on June 11th, 2021, they were able to successfully remove the tumor. While the surgery outcome was good, the pathology report did find a trace amount of cancer in one of my lymph nodes. This then prompted an aggressive care and treatment plan. I wish I could lie and say that this journey has been an easy task... but both physically and mentally, this has been the most challenging 9 months of my life -- and that's just half of this story/post.

 

Now here's part two! Because chemotherapy can cause infertility, prior to starting my treatments I went through one round of IVF. We were thankfully able to create 4 healthy embryos, which has extended our hopes of starting a family one day. UPDATE (I have now completed 16 rounds of chemotherapy at the end of November and 30 rounds of radiation at the end of February!)

Since my type of cancer is hormone receptive (estrogen and progesterone+), I will also be on hormone therapy treatment meds for at least 10 years, placing my body in medically induced menopause. Additionally, I am considered high-risk for a reoccurrence and going off of hormone therapy (to try for a pregnancy, using our embryos) would put me at risk of the cancer coming back. Because of this we are now realizing that surrogacy is the best way to go, so I am not risking my health/life to bring our child into this world. As much as I wanted to share the experience and be blessed with the opportunity to carry our baby, I also know it is most important to do what's best for my health and be here for our future family!

 

Now here is the last part of this post: As much as Jon and I would like not to ask for any help at all, the reality is surrogacy does not come cheap and unfortunately insurance does not cover the costs. While both humbling and difficult to ask for, any contributions made here would bring us one step closer in the journey towards Baby Rose. Jon and I would both be extremely grateful and appreciative.

 

We thank you for taking the time to learn about our story, and are blessed you've visited this page :)