Eff Cancer

I met Alice Crisci at the Fertility Planit Show in Los Angeles this past January. She was a speaker on the egg-freezing panel. The moment she finished sharing her story, I knew there was no way I could leave that place without meeting her.

She was vulnerable, full of life, enthusiastically talking with her hands, and had one of the most infectious laughs I’ve ever heard. I was inspired by her journey and in complete awe of her strength.

At 31, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. Let me repeat that – At 31, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. Talk about a game changer. When I think of cancer I don’t exactly envision someone in their early thirties having it.

After learning chemotherapy treatments could cause infertility, Alice decided to freeze eggs and embryos. She wanted to give herself the best possible chance to become a mother after she survived cancer. If she survived cancer.

Dream Big

The original purpose of this blog was to provide information on the egg freezing process, encourage women during their egg freezing journey and share my own. 

 

It has been brought to my attention by my BFF, that I'm not taking full advantage of this blogging business.

"Why are you making it so specific? Why don't you include more experiences from your life journey?"

The first few words of the documentary tag line clearly say "balancing life" so I guess he has a point.  I've been limiting my writing when the truth is:  I have complete freedom.

Laura's Aha! Moment

Check out the last article from Laura Naaman's egg freezing journey, What's Oprah Got To Do With It?  My favorite excerpt is from the last paragraph:

"...I have a really good life. God, or whoever (let’s be honest God is probably Oprah anyway) has taken care of me. If I’m meant to have kids, I’ll have them. If I’m not, I still have a lot of other amazing stuff. Hilarious friends, a fun job, parents who—despite what the butt doctor says—truly DON’T give a crap if I give them grandkids or not. In the meantime, I will sleep until noon on the weekends, and do my very best not to make myself miserable trying to avoid some vague possible future regret."

Laura, thanks so much for allowing us to come along with you on your journey!

Advocacy: Life After Egg Freezing

I read an article on EmpowHER.com called Advocacy:  Life After Egg Freezing.  When I got to the last paragraph, I noticed my name and a quote!   Here are some other parts that stood out: 

• "I believe that we are driven to advocacy because many of us just didn't know.  We didn't know how quickly fertility declines after 35." 
• "What matter is the common bond that unites us.  Once we know more about our own fertility, we want to share our own experience and help ease the way for other women....We are not ashamed to be open about fertility.  It is no longer...ssshhh...the dreaded 'F' word." 
• "As Jenni who recently froze 9 eggs so eloquently says in her case study, 'There have been many women before you.  There will be countless women after you.  You're not alone.'"

To read the full article, click here. 

My Eggsurance "Women Like You" Interview

A few weeks ago, I shared my egg freezing experience with the founder of the Eggsurance website, Brigitte.  To check out my "Women like You" Interview, read below.




Jenni
Current age: 36
Age eggs were frozen: 36
# of eggs frozen:   9

Why did you freeze your eggs?
I’ve always wanted to have a family. That’s never been a question for me. Turning 35 really threw me for a loop. I was no longer in the early-thirties bracket. I just kept thinking, “I’m halfway to 40.” You know the scene in When Harry Met Sally where Sally is in her bathrobe crying and she says, “And I’m gonna be 40….Someday.” That’s what I felt like. Forty was five years away at the time, but it was looming. I had to be really honest with myself about what I wanted for my future. If having kids was important to me, taking action to possibly extend my fertility seemed reasonable enough. I made the decision to freeze my eggs because I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to have my own children AND I didn’t want to pressure myself to choose a partner just because I wanted to have a family. It’s all a matter of timing.

Laura's Moment of Truth

Check out part six of Laura Naaman's egg freezing journey.   My favorite quotes from the piece:

• "Um…the whole point of this is to NOT FEEL PRESSURED TO MEET A MAN, not to feel MORE pressure to meet a man so I don’t have to spend another $10,000."
• "It occurs to me that I may have been played by the whole Fertility Industrial Complex. First I’m panicked about my fertility, then I am offered a possible solution. But the solution only kinda works, and would work better with more time and money and needles. And even then, it still might not work." 

Women Like Me

During my own egg freezing journey, I've been searching for other women sharing their stories.   A couple weeks ago I came across a series of articles by Lara Naaman.  They are awesome! I've laughed out loud numerous times, felt her frustration and asked myself some of the same questions. Lara is authentic, comical and freaked out as much as I was, which makes me feel a paculiar sense of camaraderie.  Plus, she loves cake (and ice cream) as much as I do.

My favorite quote from her last article is "I shouldn’t make any decisions while my ovaries are the size of parade floats and my hormones are horribly imbalanced." 

Click here to check out the series.

Day Five

I went to the doctor this morning for the standard: blood work and ultrasound.  After the examination, the doctor announced my follicle growth is on track.  Unlike last time, the meds are being distributed to each follicle; none of them are hoarding.  Her exact words were, “It’s really going to happen this time. They look good. We'll do the retrieval next Tuesday."  Considering the bumps along the way, I'm excited to be close to the end of my egg freezing journey! 

Official Plan for My Egg Cycle

I got the plan from the doctor for my egg freezing cycle:

• 3/29 Start birth control pills
• 4/16 Office visit for ultrasound and hormone level blood work
• 4/17 Take my last birth control pill
• 4/21 Start fertility medication
• Office visit schedule 4/23, 4/25, 4/26, 4/29
• After 4/29, I might have to go to the clinic daily depending on my response to the medication
• Egg retrieval will be the week of 4/30. Egg retrieval is usually 12-14 days after starting medication. This will require one day off work, but they recommend two.
• 3-5 days after egg retrieval follow up office visit

I'm Freezing My Eggs!

I want have a family one day. To be honest, I never imagined that I wouldn't have a family by now; I'm 35. Don't misunderstand me, I'm grateful for the path my life has taken. I'm just not where I thought I'd be, which isn't good or bad, it just IS.