Newcastle mum’s success story of fertility preservation after being diagnosed with breast cancer

Whether it’s crossed their mind or not, young women diagnosed with cancer during child-bearing years need to consider fertility. Now, options are giving mothers-to-be more hope.

Health experts are leading the way in trying to understand fertility preservation in young woman being treated with cancer. Supplied.

With a beautiful, healthy 18-month-old son and then making the exciting decision to try for another, Newcastle’s Georgie McInnes was on top of the world.

But at 34, after finding a lump in her breast which she originally thought was just from breastfeeding, the New Lambton mum got the heartbreaking news. She had breast cancer.

While for some, fertility may have been the last thing on their mind however Ms McInnes was overwhelmed with the reality her desire to have another child could be lost.

“The timing was unbelievable as we just had that conversation to go with number two,” Ms McInnes said.

“I just thought it was over for having children. I found that part really sad, cancer was confronting and scary but the fertility stuff was just really sad.”

Georgie McInnes from North Lambton with sons Archie, 3, and Louis, 8.

But thankfully the 34-year-old mother of one soon learned her dream to have more children could still come true thanks to amazing advancements in fertility preservation in young women with cancer.

“There’s a number of ways cancer and chemotherapy drugs can affect fertility as well as ovarian function, not just about infertility but also early menopause in patients with cancer,” Wanda Cui, a medical oncologist in the Breast and Lung Cancer Service at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre said.

“For a number of decades we have know that a number of chemo agents can have a high risk of causing damage to the ovaries and there’s been a number of studies looking at how we can protect the ovary from damage.

“The biggest question is now what new treatments do to infertility and early menopause and can we protect ovaries from these newer treatments.”

From drugs, IVF, or freezing eggs, there are now many options to protect fertility and giving women an increased chance at becoming mothers post treatment.

“The POEM study as well as some international studies have looked at giving medication Zoladex – or Goserelin – to woman having chemotherapy and what those studies have found is it can reduce the risk of early menopause by more than half,” Ms Cui explained.

Wanda Cui – Medical oncologist – Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne – working with women to preserve their fertility when they go through cancer treatment. Supplied.

“Besides the drugs I would also speak to young women about having their eggs frozen before starting chemo and prevention of early menopause.

“Nowadays some fertility centres preserve ovarian tissue particularly for women who don’t have a lot of time to wait before they need to start cancer treatment. Technology is evolving and the success rates of IVF is increasing and also medications to prevent early menopause.”

For Ms McInnes there was a world of options to consider, and consider quickly, before starting treatment.

“First mentioned was IVF, doing an egg retrieval so I had a back up plan, if my fertility was affected but it was really full on,” she said.

“For me to start egg retrieval meant injections and there could be complications and being hormone receptor positive, it could encourage growth.

“It was insane to think I could have a second baby given my history, realistically the odds weren’t fantastic, but we decided against it. It just felt right.”

Instead her oncologist informed her of the drug Zoladex.

She crossed her fingers and went with the treatment plan, which turned out to be the right decision.

Health experts are leading the way in trying to understand fertility preservation in young woman being treated with cancer. Supplied.

“Finished up treatment, started some hormone therapy, and the plan was to pause and have a 12 month window and I needed to get back on drugs,” Ms McInnes added.

“I got off the drugs, waited a couple months and fell pregnant straight away which was complete shock.”

It was a miracle welcoming baby Archie who is now happy and healthy at three years old.

“Noone expects a cancer diagnosis or fertility issues but it’s something we have to consider,” she said.

“It’s important for women to understand their own fertility whether cancer is in their life or not, be armed with knowledge, the options and research, and not be completely in the dark.”

Dr Cui is one of many leading experts looking into cancer and fertility research trying to understand and prevent the unwanted effects of cancer treatment on ovarian function and fertility.

Working to make sure once cured, there is quality of life for young patients to go back to living a normal life after cancer treatment.

The upcoming Breast Cancer Trials online Q + A will shine a focus on breast cancer and fertility with a panel of experts set to discuss preservation options for breast cancer patients, informed decision making and the latest in fertility preservation research.

The session is on 20th February starting at 5-6:30pm. Registrations can be made online.