Miscarriage and Hodgkin's Lymphoma
I was told that I had a blighted ovum when I went in to have an ultrasound on Thursday. I was 8.5 weeks along, and the gestational sac and yolk sac had developed, but no embryo. I started bleeding heavily yesterday, accompanied with cramping, so I believe the process of miscarrying has already started. I told them that I would prefer to let it happen naturally. I am 30-years-old, have been in remission for Hodgkin's Lymphoma for a little over two and a half years, and my husband and I started trying to conceive about 8 months ago. We waited almost two years post-treatment to conceive to make sure that my body was strong and less likely to have a recurrence of the cancer. I have always been healthy, exercise often, and maintain a positive outlook on life. However, I have always been extremely fearful of the impact the chemotherapy treatment (ABVD) has had on my body, specifically my fertility. I did have a shot of Lupron during treatment to shut down my ovaries for the duration of chemotherapy treatment, but don't know what impact the cancer and subsequent treatment has had on my fertility. We are grateful to have gotten pregnant in the first place and think that this is a good sign, but it is devastating to not have the pregnancy come to fruition. Has anyone here experienced pregnancy after cancer treatment? Does chemotherapy treatment enhance your likelihood of having a miscarriage? Is it possible my eggs are now tainted? I posed many of these questions to various doctors/specialists prior to treatment, without adequate answers... Please let me know if you have gone through a similar experience or have any insight. Thank you.
Re: Miscarriage and Hodgkin's Lymphoma
I don't have Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but I have had Multiple Myeloma & Lupus actually. I am in remission for both and doing well health wise. First off Congrats for beating cancer, that is wonderful and I know all together too well how hard that is to do. Secondly I am so sorry about your loss, I had a miscarriage last week at 10 weeks and I am still devastated by it. So huge hugs go out to you!
What I can tell you about having a baby after cancer is that you really do need to keep your oncologist in the loop of everything. I am very lucky that my oncologist is such a good man, and good DR. I had told him that my hubby and I wanted to start a family and he did some (atually a ton) testing on me just to make sure my physical ability, fertility and egg quality. I actually passed all of the tests with flying colors. I am 31, so basically the same age as you, and luckily we do have youth on our side which is very helpful. My oncologist has worked hand in hand with my OBGYN to make sure every possible need is addressed. Obviously you will be considered a high risk pregnancy, but please don't let that term freak you out.
Now just so you know and to give you hope (and lets be honest me too) my miscarriage had nothing to do with the cancer and had nothing to do with the lupus. Three weeks ago I caught a combo of the Croup and Pneumonia and I couldn't get enough oxygen to my lungs and was really sick. The DRs say that it was during that time the baby actually passed, the miscarriage was after that. I had developed a baby and it did have an excellent heartbeat, but there were things that were out of my control and it sucks. While my miscarriage sucks and is devastating, the DRs assure me that the Lupus and Cancer did not play a role in it and that is a huge relief for me because I feel that the future at least has hope for babies.
I could go on and on about this topic, so if you have questions or want to talk, just ask. Good Luck! You are in my prayers!
Hi, sorry to jump in here. I'm sorry for your loss, it is a hole in your heart that never really goes away. I'm a survivor of HD as well and did the ABVD treatment. I was diagnosed at 16 with stage 2b. Like you feel now I had the same questions. It took my husband and I over three years to get pregnant and had a m/c at 10 weeks after seeing the heartbeat in Sept 09. We tried for a year and a half without treatment and didn't have any luck. We finally sought treatment in August 09. All of the doctors who reviewed my history said that the chemo for HD wasn't long enough In duration to deplete my egg reserve but it could effect the quality of my egg supply but the only way to diagnose that would be an egg retrieval.
What we finally found after having a LAP in May 2010 was that I actually had scar tissue from my D&C after our loss and endometriosis. I also had an issue with my thyroid and keeping my progesterone high enough to sustaine pregnancy. After 3 rounds of clomed, 6 round of injectables, and the surgery in May, we got pregnant on our own and are due in July.
Now if these things were related to the chemo, I'm not sure. My heart goes out to you for your loss and for your triumph of beating cancer. I know how hard it is to find someone with a similar background so I wanted to reach out.
I wish you the best and hope you and your husband find some sort of peace in the upcoming weeks.
I, too, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's and went through the ABVD. I have been in remission for almost 8 years. When I had my miscarriage, I had seen the heartbeat twice. I made it to 11w6d, but I'd been spotting for about two weeks, so my doctor had me come in. The baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks and had no hb.
At that time, my doctor said that most of the studies on the affects of cancer treatment and fertility concluded that if the cancer treatments were going to affect fertility, it would make it harder to get pregnant; but, once pregnant, it most likely had nothing to do with miscarriage.
Like a PP said, it can affect egg quality, but egg retrieval is the only way to diagnose that.
Good luck in the future! I hope that you (and I) are able to join the pregnancy boards again very soon.
BFP #5: 3/25/2015: EDD: 12/8/2015.
I was diagnosed with stage 2b Hodgkin's Lymphoma and underwent ABVD in 2007 at 21 and had some pretty bad depression since. My boyfriend at the time is now my husband - I have always known he wanted kids but I have always been so terrified. Our birth control messed up and I found out I was pregnant on our 2nd anniversary in February - he was delighted and I was excited too but so nervous. I had a natural miscarriage on 12 March at just over 7 weeks and have been so upset since. My doctor didn't seen to think anything was related to my chemo but it's just so hard to believe it - I mostly just blame my useless body. I'm so nervous to 'try' again and have really felt alone, I have not wanted to see anyone except my husband since I lost the baby, especially since many of my friends are pregnant or have newborns.