New Member- Question about Fertility

[gsparby]

I have been on this site quite a bit since I was diagnosed this past March with Stage III colorectal cancer. However, for some reason I have always signed on as a guest. (I think that was a way for me to distance myself from the disease.) I had my rounds of chemo/radiation this past spring and major surgery this past July. I am very excited to get my illeostomy reversed this Thursday! (Docs allowed me to take a break from chemo for the surgery.)

At any rate, I have not had a period since chemo/radiation started in April. I have also experienced many of the symptoms of menopause, i.e., hot flashes, night sweats. I had tests completed while I was in the hospital that confirmed I was indeed in menopause. My OB/GYN said that my fertility may return a year or so after I complete chemo. (I am 31.)

My question is whether anyone else has had similar experiences, and whether their fertility did return or not after completion of treatment.

[sirball]

I was diagnosed two months after my 30th birthday. I had been married 2 years at that time and we were looking forward to starting a family. I had been off of the bc pill because we were hoping to get pregnant in the near future. However, immediately after surgery my doctors had me go back on the pill. They said that this was to try and prevent early menapause. I had normal periods throughout chemo. However, I went off the pill again this June (1 year after chemo). Since then I have had irregular bleeding, cramps (really bad pain), etc. My doctors told me to go back on the bc pill right away.
Your question about fertility is one I have asked many times. The response I get over and over is "we don't know." I was on FOLFOX, there is not a lot of research out there on the effects of oxaliplatin on fertility. I am hoping one day that we will be able to have what "normal" people have- a couple a chubby babies running around. Until that time, I am going to stay on the bc pill. You may want to ask your doctors about it as well.

[weisssoccermom]

Sirball,

I am assuming from the dates on your page that you are no longer on chemo-correct? The reason I ask this is it is NOT a good idea to be on the bc pill along with chemo.

I kept telling my onc that I was on the bc pill (to regulate my period) and he said it was fine. Then I got a WHOLE bunch of blood clots in my right arm (thankfully there and not somewhere else). I had to spend a few nights in the hospital monitoring everything and getting heparin shots and starting to take coumadin. Just before I was ready to leave, the hospital pharmacist came up to have a talk with me about coumadin and the coumadin clinic that anyone on the drug has to go to. He started asking me about what other drugs I was taking (coumadin interacts with some) and when I told him I was on the pill, he flipped.

Apparently, (& I didn't know this and no one told me) having cancer alone ups your chances of getting a blood clot-no idea why), but when you add cancer, chemo & the pill it REALLY increases your chances. When I asked the pharmacist why my onc didn't inform me, he basically said that the oncs don't always seem to be that aware of drug interactions. My own pharmacist (at the local Safeway) wouldn't know about these interactions since he doesn't dispense chemo. I ended up staying on coumadin for 4 months prior to my surgery and after checking with the coumadin clinic (they are all hospital pharmacists who help regulate the amount in your blood) they felt that the combo on the pill, chemo & cancer was the reason that I developed the clots. I had never had them before and had no risk factors for them. Now, here's what gets me.

We are supposed to try and NOT get pregnant while on chemo which makes sense, hence the pill. However, if the pill, in conjuction with chemo is a BAD idea, why doesn't somone tell us. There are other methods of birth control Here is a link to an informational page on chemocare.com that talks about this.

http://www.chemocare.com/managing/blood ... herapy.asp

Just a word of caution to anyone on the bc pill and chemo. REALLY talk to your doctor about this combination. As the page says, you are already at an increased risk for blood clots by just having cancer. Please be careful.

[klryder02]

weiss-

I am so glad you posted that info about bc pills. My doctor also told me to keep taking them, but I took it upon myself to stop taking them once I started chemo. Although no one really told me this, I thought that my liver and body was already receiving enough "stuff" in it, and it needed less "stuff" to process, so I stopped taking them. Looks like I was right!!!

Thanks

[Jeremiah]

Just wanted to tank you for being open and honest. The part of distancing yourself from the disease was a refreshing taste of honesty that you don't see much.

I think we all did/do something similar to that, but not all of us admit it.

[jodi]

I'm so very sorry to tell you this, sweetie, but if you had pelvic radiation the chance of your fertility returning is unlikely. I am appalled that your doctor did not discuss this with you in advance and give you some fertility options (mine told me about the ovarian damage, but not fertility options).

I have heard of fertility coming back after chemo, but not after radiation over 600 Gy, and most colorectal cancer is treated with about 4500 Gy (I think I have that unit of measure correct, in any event, it's the right number, but the unit might be called something else).

I really, really hope that I have not upset you by posting this on a message board, and if so I apologize. If you get to a gyno at a cancer center, they can test you for your hormone levels, and tell you your status, and give you options. I *did* have one kind gyno tell me she has seen all kinds of crazy miracles happen with fertility. So, you really never know.

Best of luck to you.

[Tammy Figg]

Hi, I am a stage III survivor. I was lucky enough to bring up fertility before I was treated and harvested embryos. I did not regain fertility after treatments and it's been 5 years. I am in menopause since. I do have a son now due to having saving these embryos. Part of our Foundations goal is to get doctors to talk with young patients about fertility.

Tammy Figg
Figg Tree Foundation
www.figgtree.com

[CBLACK]

I hear so much about females questioning fertility but haven't read much about males. Does anyone know of any males conceiving after treatment, without the use of frozen sperm? Just curious about the stats. Any answers would be great.
thanks

[Larry]

That is a great question. My I asked my onc if I needed to freeze sperm and he said no. He siad during the chemo the sperm count goes down but returns after chemo. Anyone hear anything else?

[CBLACK]

Larry,
We were told to freeze sperm prior to chemo. The doctor said that treatment could possibly reduce the count significantly, but I haven't heard of anyone male on this forum speak of complications.

[oysterbeast]

Just wanted throw my 2 cents in around the whole male reproduction issue. Quick background, I am a 2 time stage III colon cancer survivor. WHen I was frist dx my docs suggested that I bank sperm. I was so overwhelmed with teh cancer thing not to mention medical costs I couldn't deal with teh thought of banking sperm much less the cost around it (it f'ing expensive to freeze your guys). Besides I was 28 and kids were the last thing on my mind. I did a year of FolFox. A year after I finished treatment the cancer came back. The docs let me know that the surgery would probably impair my ability to ejaculate (not to orgasm...THANK GOD) so I should definitley consider banking sperm. I had the boys analyzed. Tha doctor basically told me that a normal male has around 60-70000 sperms at any given point. I had 6000 and not 1 good swimmer. Banking was pointless. The chemo and radiation had damaged my goods (temporarily). The surgery ended up making it impossible for me to ejaculate ( I can still orgasm). Upside, great birth control. Downside, well they will have to probably stick a needle in my testilcles to get the juice when I'm ready and recovered from treatments and my partner will have to do IVF. Sex can still be wild and romantic, but baby making is done in the lab.

[KalisaO]

Ok - after reading some of the posts I now realize there is debate on whether or not I should have taken BC during chemo, but I did. I did the standard 6 month treatment of Folfox and had my period every month. I finished my treatment in January and have been given the "blessing" by both my oncologist and gynocologist that we can start trying to get pregnant. I have been off the pill since May and have had a period every 28 days. With all that being said...nobody knows if I can have kids. I didn't know before I was diagnosed. But has anyone gotten pregnant after treatment without having frozen eggs or sperm?

[cmindc]

My radiation oncologist said it was about 99% sure that my ovaries would be destroyed from the radiation. I met with a fertility specialist and he said between the radiation and the chemo that he was right. We explored ovary transposition, but my field of radiation was too big. The fertility doc said freezing eggs was an option, but given my age the DNA breakdown in the eggs would be very rapid and the chances of getting pregnant from them would not be high and the chance of mental retardation if a pregnancy happened would be really high. Since I am single I did not have the option of having the eggs fertilized.

I haven't had my period since the beginning of February. I've been having hot-flashes for a while now. They're pretty bad. My oncologist said that it's really a wait and see game. The fertility doc said he'd run some tests and can do an ultrasound of my ovaries and see if there are any antral folicles left. This will be the next step...

It sucks. I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to have kids, but I at least wanted to make my own choice. I've heard of women getting their periods again after all the treatment, so I know it's possible. We'll see...

[rilla]

Tammy, I also had frozen embryos before I went through chemo/radiation and now my husband and I are looking into our options. Did you carry them yourself, or did you have a surrogate? If you don't mind my asking, if you had a surrogate, what were some of the approximate costs? Did you use a stranger or a friend/family member? This whole thing is stressing me out, as I would really like to have a kid in the next couple of years and I feel like I don't know where to begin.