Celine Dion and her husband, René Angélil, recently announced that they are pregnant with their second child, conceived with the help of fertility doctors in New York. Her husband is a cancer survivor and years ago there were alleged reports of him banking sperm and/or them banking embryos before he started his cancer treatments. Regardless of how they go here, I am thrilled to see another survivor and his wife build the family of their dreams!
Fit Pregnancy is hosting a live online auction of the maternity dress designed by Project Runway winner Christian Siriano to benefit Fertile Hope!
I was thrilled to see the story about cancer and fertility in People magazine this week!
Fertile Hope is pleased to announce its’ programs and services have been acquired by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). 
Time magazine published an article this week about a recent study that suggests that the most effective and inexpensive IVF method may also be the least likely to result in dangerous multiple births – single embryo transfer.
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!
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.
The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) just released the most recent summary of fertility clinic success rates. You can look at national averages as well as see individual clinic statistics such as patient volume, success rates, and occurrence of multiples. I find it fascinating - with one major downfall: they don't track egg freezing yet!
Last week on ABC's smash hit Grey's Anatomy, one of the main characters was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. Do you think fertility will come up? Join us in emailing the writers to suggest that they integrate the topic. Fingers crossed! Watch it tonight...
President Obama lifted the Bush administration's restrictions on federally financed human embryonic stem cell research. Fertile Hope is in an interesting position in this debate. On one hand, the cancer community has been waiting for this day for a long time and is celebrating the news. On the other hand, the fertility community is the keeper of a lot of the embryos that may one-day be used for research. So, I wonder, would you donate your extra embryos for stem cell research? I had the opportunity to make that decision during one of my IVF cycles and it was quite an interesting experience...
Fertile Hope is proud to be the beneficiary of SELF's Workout in the Park again in 2009. With special recession-friendly pricing - only $15 per person (which includes a 1 year subscription to SELF magazine if you buy online!) - knockout workouts, beauty treatments and free product samples, you've got to go! Not to mention, Fertile Hope is one of three ticket sales beneficiaries. We'll be handing out awesome product samples and coupons at our table. Stop by or volunteer. Here are the cities and dates:
Fertile Hope is proud to participate in the OMG! Cancer Summit in New York City in May. I'll be moderating the cancer and fertility session and our fabulous fertility expert, Dr. Elizabeth Fino from NYU Fertility Center, will lead the discussion and answer your most burning questions. Space is limited and we are expecting a full house (thanks to a performance by cancer survivor Kevin Hearn of the Bare Nakes Ladies!). Register now (it's free!)!
I just received this update to share with you all from our first guest blogger, Alex Exley, Fertile Hope's Program Director:
An article written by the Oncofertility Consortium's leader, Dr. Teresa Woodruff, was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine about cancer and fertility. The review paper describes current and emerging options for fertility preservation for cancer patients. This is another great validation of Fertile Hope's mission and fantastic way to continue to raise awareness in the medical community. Check it out...
Everyone used to tell me that I should try out for Donald Trump's show, The Apprentice. I always laughed, but was secretly flattered. It would have been an unbelievable way to raise awareness about Fertile Hope, but I was always too shy to try out. This Sunday, The Celebrity Apprentice will premiere on NBC and includes two testicular cancer survivors, Scott Hamilton and Tom Green - both of whom, I believe, banked their sperm prior to treatment. I always love it when cancer makes primetime and hope that fertility comes up, especially with Scott who is now a dad. Will you watch?
We’ve got it! Serena and Lily - the makers of the most luxurious nursery bedding - donated gorgeous stroller blankets to Fertile Hope for our Baby Blanket Program. Donate a minimum of $50 and we’ll send a blanket to you – or anyone you know with a new baby on the way, adoption in the works, toddler running around or grandparents awaiting a visit of their grandchildren. This is such a great way to buy what you need and support us at the same time. Supplies are limited and the blankets are too beautiful to stick around for long – act fast!
Last week I was inundated with emails about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Requests for referrals. Questions about its viability to help with cancer, infertility and other medical conditions. Inquiries about my personal experiences and beliefs. The volume of requests in one week sent me down memory lane to a time when I was obsessed with CAM. This was, of course, when I was in the midst of my cancer crisis. I tried it all. I have my own miracle stories as well as spooky experiences. There are things I’ve incorporated into my daily life and others I’ll never do again. From my perspective, CAM doesn’t seem to be as popular in the fertility world as it is in the cancer world, but the area is growing. Where the two overlap – in our world of cancer and fertility – there seem to be a lot of unanswered questions. For example, you are born with all of the eggs you will ever have and once they are destroyed there is nothing anyone can do to bring them back. Is there a role for CAM here? Please educate me. Can CAM help cancer survivors preserve their fertility? Can it help with pregnancy after cancer? Patients, survivors and I want to know more…
I would love to know more. Anyone have any additional knowledge, insight or opinions as to how this will affect the cancer and/or fertility communities?
Years ago no one talked about breast cancer publicly. It was whispered about in the aisles of the grocery stores, kept behind closed doors, and dealt with in secret and isolation. Now, it is on billboards in Times Square! This is exactly what needs to happen with infertility. We are still in the whisper phase and need to figure out how to get to Times Square. 
Fertile Hope is now on Facebook and trying to ramp up our membership base and maximize our presence. As our team spends valuable time trying to make this happen, I can’t help but wonder: is this a waste of time or an important communication vehicle? If the later, what strategies do you recommend we employ to make sure we get the biggest bang for our buck? Can you recommend examples of companies (non-profit or for-profit) that do it well? While we sort it all out, please “join” our cause on Facebook.
The American Cancer Society and the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report titled “Spending to Survive” illustrating the financial burdens faced by cancer patients, who often face enormous medical costs even when they have health insurance. People often ask me why the financial eligibility criteria for our Sharing Hope financial assistance program are so high ($75-100,000 for women and $50-75,000 for men) and this is exactly why. Everyone knows that the cost of cancer is high, if you don’t have insurance. But few people know that even with insurance, people are spending so much. These costs coupled with cost of sperm banking ($1,500), egg and embryo freezing ($15,000), surrogacy ($100,000) or adoption ($25,000) can make parenthood after cancer unattainable. How have you been impacted by these costs?
Chemo was rough, but like most grim things in life the memory of it faded with time. That is, until I was pregnant with Paisley and morning sickness became a daily reminder. Fortunately, by the time I was pregnant with Walker, I didn’t have to experience this constant chemo reminder – a fantastic new product had been launched, Psi Bands. What, you ask, are Psi Bands? Here is an excerpt from their website:
The largest single-institution study to look at pregnant breast cancer patients published a study today in Cancer (online). Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that young women who develop breast cancer during their pregnancy, or who are diagnosed within one year of their pregnancy, have no difference in rates of local recurrence, distant metastases and overall survival compared to other young women with the disease. However, pregnancy contributed to a delay in breast cancer diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment, so it is reccomended that primary care and fertility doctors should be aggressive in the workup of breast symptoms in the pregnant population to expedite diagnosis and allow multidisciplinary treatment. The researchers estimate that approximately 10% of breast cancer patients under the age of 40 develop the disease during pregnancy. Here is a link to the abstract.
First smiles. First steps. First words. First day on skis! These are the moments when my heart swells, my eyes well up with tears, time freezes and I think: this is why I wanted to survive! There are a million reasons to fight cancer. For me, motherhood was at the top of the list. What fuels your fight?
The trial is only as good as the number of people who participate – the more the better. Participating is a cinch. You don’t have to do anything. Your reproductive doctor just signs you up and then anonymously shares your data with the trial. So, if you or anyone you know is using their frozen eggs, ask your fertility doctor to sign you up. What do you think – would you participate?
Up late working again after an early morning in the gym, long day in the office, double dinner-bath-story-bed-time with the kids, laundry, packing and a just-barely-squeezed-in-but-lovely dinner with my husband, I am reminded of the conversation that set me free. One rough day, after finishing up a great meeting with a big sponsor only to discover my sweater was covered with yogurt from that one last extra hug good-bye from the kids, I needed a pep talk.
Did you see Erin Zammett Ruddy’s article in Glamour about the woman (pictured) who faked cancer?! Supposedly, it is happening more and more. These fakers are trying to access some of the perks of being in the "cancer club" like free retreats, scholarships and financial assistance. Fertile Hope is looking to expand its portfolio of financial assistance programs and keeps running into this question – how does someone prove they had cancer? We can verify income with the IRS, citizenship with a Social Security number, and age with a Driver’s License, but cancer is hard to prove. Are you listening LAF? Like AARP, I want a LIVESTRONG card with benefits! Any other ideas?
January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, so Fertile Hope Board Member and fashion designer, Liz Lange, is helping to spread the word. Liz is a cervical cancer survivor who became infertile from her treatments. Liz was very private about her experience until about a year ago when she told the world her story in Glamour magazine. These days, the maternity goddess isn’t keeping quiet. She joined forces with the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation to help women understand the consequences that cervical cancer can have on your life, including infertility. My favorite quote from her:
Are you looking for an inexpensive way to see your friends, drink great wine, donate to charity and keep up with your favorite magazines all at the same time? Fertile Hope has the answer: Hope Uncorked.2. A Good Excuse to Get Together with Friends
You can host your event anywhere (home, office, art gallery, country club, etc.) at anytime by simply doing what you already do – drinking wine with your friends. For a $25 tasting fee, less than a typical night out, your guests have the perfect reason to get together.
3. Stress-Free Planning
From invitations to reminders to RSVPs, our online system does all of that work for you. All you have to do is pick up some wine (or ask your guests to bring their favorite bottle!) and host your party.
4. Receive Fantastic Gifts
Hosts and their guests receive fantastic guest goodies, including Uncorked, a wine tasting guide by Women & Wine® and Sofitel®, and a one-year subscription to your choice of Cookie, Glamour, Gourmet, GQ or SELF magazine (a $12 value).
5. Change the Course of Someone’s Life
Not only will you raise awareness and provide life changing information about parenthood after cancer to your peers, but your support will allow Fertile Hope to empower cancer patients with the information they need to turn their parenthood after cancer dreams into reality!
I can hardly believe that my son Walker is almost a year old! We conceived him shortly after my daughter Paisley turned one and, as his first birthday approaches, I find myself longing for Baby #3. It doesn’t help that I am surrounded by cancer and fertility on a daily basis and that one of my co-workers is pregnant and looking fabulous in her Liz Lange maternity clothes! I’ve always said I want four or five kids – and, then, cancer put it all at risk. There were a lot of dark times when I never thought that I would be a mom. Now, fortunately, I know what works for us, but it is expensive! As the economy crumbles, I wonder – should we just be happy with where we are or should we try for another baby? Three complicates everything – from housing (outgrowing our tiny 2-bedroom apartment in NYC!) to transportation (do they even make a triple stroller?!) to cost (IVF through college!). Cancer taught me to shoot for the stars and live the life of my dreams. Now, I guess I am wondering – is a big family still my dream? If the economy was in better shape, would I even be having these thoughts? I can’t tell if I am being practical or crazy. Will I look back in 10 years when the economy is soaring high and regret not shooting for the stars?
A few trends are weighing on Fertile Hope's educational outreach strategy and I’d love your input. First, the trends… everyone is going green. The economy has seen better days. Our target demographic is young adult cancer patients and survivors – a demographic that lives online. Next, the dilemma… we are wondering if we need to continue to develop, print and distribute patient educational brochures or if you’d rather find all of the information online? Online only is attractive – it’s cheap, its green and we can provide deeper, more customized information like you see with our Comparison Tool, Risk Calculator and Options Calculator. Offline has its benefits too – although it is costly to design, print and mail, it has a physical presence in your doctor’s office, patient libraries and cancer centers across the country. Is it still important to be in both places?
What would you do if you were a young man diagnosed with cancer today and told that your treatments would render you infertile? Look for a sperm bank, right? What if you lived in one of the states in the US where a sperm bank doesn’t exist? Or, what if you needed to start chemo immediately and you couldn't leave the hospital? Historically, these scenarios meant that you couldn’t bank your sperm. Now there is the Live:On kit – thanks to a partnership between Fertile Hope, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Cryogenic Laboratories, Inc. Yes, the Live:On kit allows men (and mature boys) to FedEx their sperm to the sperm bank! While slightly less effective than banking at an on-site clinic (approximately 10% less motility (aka speed) has been seen), it is far better than the alternative – not banking and forgoing your best option for having a biological child after cancer. It gets better – the kit is free for nurses to order and hand out at cancer centers. So, please tell me, how do we get the word out about it and make sure the kit is available in every cancer center in the country (on a tight non-profit budget!)?
The TV series Private Practice, ABC’s spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy starring actress Kate Walsh, is one of the first shows to integrate “oncofertility” into its storyline. Anyone catch an episode? Are they covering the topic well? Watch tonight (Thursdays at 10/9C) and tell us what you think!
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?
Today, I spent the day with my good friend Erin Zammett Ruddy, a freelance writer and a columnist and blogger for glamour.com, and her son, Alex. As our children played together, I couldn’t help but think how lucky we both are – cancer survivors and moms. When we were diagnosed with cancer, the idea of future parenthood seemed so audacious and extravagant. We’ve both been asked on more than one occasion - shouldn’t you just be happy you are alive? Of course, we are happy to be alive! Aren’t you? But, just like you, we want to live amazing lives and, for us, that includes having kids. Erin’s story is unique. She had chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and for the last six years has been treated with Gleevec. The drug that saved her life doesn’t cause infertility in women, but you can't take it while you are pregnant. If you stop taking it, you risk the cancer coming back and the drug not working for you anymore. Quite a dilemma. With her oncologist’s approval, Erin went off Gleevec to conceive Alex and nothing went awry. Her cancer didn’t come back and Gleevec continues to work for her. So now, a year and half later, she is longing for another baby and wondering – do I risk my life again for a baby? As Alex plays with Paisley and Walker, it is hard for me to argue against it. I have two children – and want more. I get it. As Fertile Hope's Founder & Executive Director, it is also hard for me not to try to solve this dilemma other ways – IVF, surrogacy, adoption, etc. Erin’s done her homework on all of those options and knows they aren’t right for her (read more here). What would you do?
