Looking for a Reproductive Doctor or Service?

I am thrilled to announce that the 2009 Cancer & Fertility Referral Guide is now live! With more than 800 listings, it is the most comprehensive tool of its kind in the industry. We completely revamped our system (thanks to webflow solutions), so that you can now compare centers side-by-side, request an appointment, view insurances accepted and initial consultation fees (many offer free initial consults for newly diagnosed cancer patients), link directly to their success rate data, and more!

Check it out and tell me what you think!

p.s. In our poll 67% of you voted YES to selling advertising on our website for the Referral Guide, so we did. The companies who advertised made this cool new tool possible. Thank you!

Everyone Around Me is Pregnant!

I love it! I am also really jealous. Is that strange? I have two beautiful children! I am taking it as a sign that I definitely want more babies.

All the recent baby news sent me down memory lane to a time when it was unbearable. I was always happy for my friends who were pregnant, but I was also incredibly sad that I wasn't yet (and didn't know if I would ever be). Every cliché was true - and I hated it.

I also hated (and still do) the feeling of telling someone that I know is wrestling with infertility that I am pregnant (and/or talking about my kids). It is like telling someone dying of cancer that you are a 5 year survivor. It doesn't seem fair. I am usually overwhelmed with survivor's guilt. And, I never know what to say. Even worse, I feel like everyone thinks I should know exactly what to say because I've been there. The expectations are high - and I always fail to meet them.

Ever been on either side of the fence? Advice?

What do Fertile Hope & Olympic Swimmer Eric Shanteau Have in Common?

We'll both be in Oregon celebrating Young Adult Cancer Week on April 9. Join us at the free event and see the Knight Cancer Institute become a Fertile Hope Center of Excellence.

It Worked - Grey's Anatomy Talked About Cancer and Fertility

Anyone watching Grey's Anatomy right now? Last week, I blogged about one of the main characters, Izzy, being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma as a young adult. We sent tons of emails to the writers suggesting that they integrate fertility into the storyline - and they did! They just told her to freeze her eggs! Her response: "Right, babies!" Oh my gosh, now they are talking to her boyfriend about getting his sperm because frozen embryos have better success rates. This is amazing!


Cancer and fertility made primetime!

News Flash - Cancer ALERT Act Introduced Today and Includes Survivorship

Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison today introduced the 21st Century Cancer Access to Life-Saving Early detection, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Act, a bill to comprehensively address the challenges our nation faces in battling this disease. This is the first sweeping cancer legislation introduced since the National Cancer Act in 1971, authored by Kennedy. The Act includes a section dedicated specifically to "Cancer Survivorship and Complete Recovery Initiatives." Read more in the Senators' op-ed to the Houston Chronicle.

I can't wait to see what this means for cancer, survivorship and fertility...

News Flash - 1st Ever Cancer Survivor Pregnant With Twins from Ovarian Tissue Freezing

I just got a google alert reporting that a 39-year-old breast cancer survivor in Spain will become the world’s first woman to give birth to twins after receiving a transplant of her own ovarian tissue. Reportedly, the woman had her ovaries removed and frozen before cancer treatments, reimplanted after treatment and regained hormonal function. Now, she is 15 weeks pregnant with twins. Does anyone know more?

Help Pass a Bill that Highlights the Importance of Fertility for Young Breast Cancer Patients

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, a recent breast cancer survivor, introducted a bill this week called the EARLY Act to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase awareness of the risks of breast cancer in young women and provide support for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Fertility is specifically highlighted and efforts to improve fertility education and counseling will hopefully be the beneficiary of some of the $40 million that will be appropriated to the issue if it passes.

Check out her interview on Good Morning America and the press release announcing the Act.

Please help us get this bill passed - write your representative!