Do you get nervous?

luckybridetobe · September 2014

I thought I would post on this board as well to see if you had any input since all of you ladies have gone thru fertility treatments.

Do you get nervous Taking all of these fertility medications? Does anyone know if there is an increased risk to breast cancer/gynological cancers due to all of the fertility meds? DH and I are thinking about going thru with the IVF. Breast Cancer and Ovarian cancer runs on my side of the family. It scares the crap out of me to inject myself with all of these meds. Have any of you ladies thought about this prior to going thru with your IVF? Have any of you done any research on this? I have read some articles and majority of them say that there is no real increased risk, I kind of find that shocking. Maybe there is not enough research on it yet. I know that I am at an increased risk all ready because of my family history. I dont want to increase my chances even more doing these fertility meds. DH and I are kind of nervous to go thru with it. I was just wondering what your thoughts were on this subject. Need some advice. Noone really knows that we are having infertility issues so I counting on this board with your expertise/advice.

mdiblasi10 · September 2014

I definitely thought about this, yes. But I also know there are proven studies that show a decreased risk of breast, ovarian and other female reproductive cancers in women who have children and who breastfeed. Just another perspective for you, although I don't have a family history. I also could not find any good or complete studies on the long term affects of the IF meds and hormones.

Have you spoken to your doctors about their thoughts on you doing IVF with your family history? That is where I would start. Good luck with your decision!

kbeach82 · September 2014

Breast and ovarian cancers are prevalent in my family history as well. My maternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she only in her 30’s. I did my research, and discussed the risks and benefits with my husband, my General Practitioner, my OBGYN, and my RE. In the end, DH and I made the decision to move forward with IVF. Today, I know that it is a decision I would never, given the opportunity, reverse.

As you mentioned, the majority of studies for which data is available suggest that there is not an increased risk of ovarian or breast cancer in women that undergo fertility treatments. And as @mdiblasi10 mentioned, there are numerous, well founded studies that show a decreased risk of reproductive cancers in women that have given birth. Unfortunately, there is no single study that will give you the definitive answer that you may be looking for.

I would suggest speaking to the healthcare professionals that you are working with to help you make a decision. If you have not already, you may want to consider BRCA1/BRCA2 screening if that is a possibility to better determine your risk level for breast cancer in particular.

Good luck with your decision.

Mrs.McIrish · September 2014

I am BRCA1+ and I have asked this question repeatedly at many RE offices. I have an extremely lengthy IF history and done more IVF treatment than most. For me, it is what it is. I know no one can promise me that studies won't come out down the line showing an increased risk.

Ultimately I was unable to conceive with my eggs and used a donor. My girls won't inherit my gene. I feel good about that. As for me, my ovaries will be surgically removed at some point next year which will reduce my risk of OC. My doctors don't want me to BF or only for a short period bc they can't screen my breasts while milk ducts are engorged. It will be 13 months since my last screening (mammogram) when the twins are born bc I couldn't do the breast MRI I was scheduled for in April while pregnant. I otherwise do my screening faithfully and "if" we ever find anything, the goal is early detection. No one can tell you whether you want to take the risk of IF drugs. I decided to, knowing I have a team of cancer doctors following me.

Jenny935 · September 2014

I was definitely nervous about this. I saw the studies you saw, which run from "inconclusive" to "doesn't seem to cause more problems." I decided that since IVF has been around for my whole life (the first IVF baby is a little older than my age 35) that if there were huge warning signs with bells and whistles going off, they'd know by now. Granted, I think our generation is the first to do these increased numbers of cycles due to insurance coverage, low interest rates for loans, so many two working adult households with a little extra money, the lessening (though not gone) taboo of doing it, etc. So maybe by the time our kids grow up there will be more data about it. But I decided that for now, I felt comfortable trying a couple times. Good luck, we hope to see you here for good reasons soon.

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