The Audacity of (Fertile) Hope

Wow, today was inspiring! As I watched the inauguration coverage, I was struck by the shared experience of hope in a time of great uncertainty. Whether you are referring to the war, the economy or a new cancer diagnosis, believing in your ability to change, improve or solve the problem at hand is very hopeful. I never realized how audacious hope was until, in the face of cancer, I hoped to be a mom one day. I was still full of fearless, bold, daring hopes when I started Fertile Hope in October 2001. My first hope was that all cancer patients would be informed of their fertility risks. We’ve made great progress in achieving this. My second hope was access to fertility treatments for cancer patients. During the Bush administration we lobbied on Capitol Hill, but quickly realized there was no hope for a fertility coverage mandate, so we stopped wasting our resources. Today, my audacious (Fertile) Hope is that President Obama’s administration will make a commitment to access by improving insurance coverage for fertility preservation for cancer patients. What is yours?