Cancer survivor devastated to discover frozen embryos destroyed

A Torquay cancer survivor says she had her hopes of becoming a mother dashed when frozen embryos were destroyed without her knowledge.

Breast cancer survivor Kate Thomas with her French Bulldog Bronco at Torquay. Picture: Brad Fleet

Cancer survivor Kate Thomas says she had her dream of becoming a mother dashed when an IVF clinic destroyed embryos without her knowledge.

The Torquay woman was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer 10 years ago aged just 35, on her first wedding anniversary.

Immediately after diagnosis and before surgery, medication, radiation and chemo, Ms Thomas went to Melbourne IVF in East Melbourne and had embryos frozen.

She said the plan was to be on hormone blockers for 10 years, and then start her IVF journey to become a mother.

Last month, finally clear of cancer, she and her husband called the clinic to find out what the next step would be.

She was told the frozen embryos had been destroyed five years ago.

“We’re still trying to find out what’s happened,” Ms Thomas said.

“We just don’t know where it went wrong.

“I’ve been through so much in the past 10 years.”

Mr Thomas said she and her husband were still in shock.

“We moved houses, but they had my email,” she said.

“We don’t even know if they tried to contact us before destroying them.”

Melbourne IVF medical director Fleur Cattrall said legislation meant an embryo must not be stored for longer than five years without a review.

“Victorian IVF clinics are required by law to remove … embryos in storage following the end of the approved storage period, unless a patient applies to extend the period,” Dr Cattrall said.

“Melbourne IVF follows a rigorous process to attempt to contact patients multiple times prior to the five-year storage term expiring.

“This is to give patients enough time to apply to the patient review panel to extend the storage time.”

“The attempted contact is made via registered post to the address they have provided, phone calls and texts to both biological parents on the numbers they have provided, and contact is made with the patient’s GP and fertility specialist.”

She said patients were asked to ensure the service was kept informed of their current details.

Breast cancer survivor Kate Thomas with her French Bulldog Bronco at Torquay. Picture: Brad Fleet

Ms Thomas said she was also managing “terrible” osteoporosis caused by medications prescribed for her chemotherapy side effects.

She said she had no idea of the risk when she began taking the medication.

Ms Thomas said she also wasn’t able to take medication for her anxiety while taking osteoporosis drugs.

“I’m a shadow of myself to be honest … I had family dreams, I was going to open a business,” she said.

“I can only work a couple of hours a day now … and I can’t exercise, I fracture my bones too easily.

“My positive mental attitude, I am very lucky I have that … I’m not sure if I’m in denial or a trooper.

“But my anxiety and stress is still ridiculous.”

Ms Thomas said she has started sharing her cancer care journey inspired by the Pink Hope initiative Project Shirley, which is dedicated to better understanding the healthcare encounters, and fixing the gaps in the breast cancer care system.

“It is an area where there needs to be more understanding, so hearing about these personal stories is really important,” she said.

Pink Hope chief executive Sarah Powell said by giving patients, past and present, the power to share their experiences, people could work together to create a better patient experience moving forward.

Breast cancer survivors and patients interested in participating Pink Hope’s Project Shirley can visit here for more information and take part in the survey.

Originally published as Cancer survivor devastated to discover frozen embryos destroyed