Most women want to have children and Sammy was no different but would there be an issue with regards Sammy Jo fertility we asked?
From a young age, it became apparent that her maternal instincts were very strong.
The desire to have children grew stronger as ahe got older, so when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the first thing that she was concerned about was her ability to still become pregnant.
She spent a lot of time on the internet, looking for answers to her situation. She discovered that chemotherapy treatment could damage the eggs in the ovaries and possibly bring on the menopause.
Her plan was to have In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment and Ovarian Suppression – a Goserelin injection (brand name for Zoladex) in her abdomen before her treatment started. The embryos are frozen and returned to the womb at a later stage.
In simple terms, with IVF, you will undergo an examination to evaluate things, like your egg reserve and that you have no other complications.
Also, the sperm donor will be tested to make sure there are no issues with his donation.
Normally the fertility drug is administered daily, via an injection just below the belly button, for up to 14 days. This stimulates the ovaries to produce more eggs.
A trigger injection is given to coincide with a pre-arranged appointment to harvest the eggs.
Under some form of anaesthetic and the use of ultrasound equipment, a specialist draws a fluid from the follicles of the ovaries – this fluid contains the eggs.
The amount of eggs retrieved will vary from person to person.
At this stage, there is a choice to be made.
The eggs can be fertilized with a donation made by the sperm donor and then frozen. Or, the eggs can be frozen and fertilized later, at the stage when they are going to be used.
This is normally at least 1 year after the cancer patient has recovered from her treatment and is in remission.
Ovarian Suppression (Goserelin Injection)
This treatment can be used for two different reasons.
The first is if you are being treated for breast cancer. The drug stops the ovaries from making the hormone oestrogen. The type of breast cancer being treated will determine if the production of oestrogen needs to be suppressed. This hormone will help some breast cancers grow but Triple negative breast cancer does not respond to any hormone therapy so ovarian suppression is not used.
The second reason is for women who have not yet reached the menopause, the treatment can protect their ovaries and give them a better chance of falling pregnant. The chemotherapy has an effect on the ovaries by reducing the number of eggs and their quality. Studies have shown that suppression of the ovaries can protect them from the chemotherapy but research continues to see just how effective it really is.
More information can be found here:
www.macmillan.org.uk and then search Ovarian Suppression
www.nhs.uk and then search Breast Cancer in Women