Fertility

‘I had to make big decisions about my fertility – within days of my breast cancer diagnosis’.

Posted by Jo Waters on 02 September 2026

Caroline – who lives in London, had been married for only five months when she discovered she had stage-3 breast cancer. She was just 31.

Here she shares how she chose to have fertility treatment to create frozen embryos for her future family.

“I’d found a lump in my left breast but because of my age and having no family history of breast cancer, I wasn’t too worried. However, I decided to get it checked out at a breast clinic to be on the safe side.

I had a physical examination, and the doctor reassured me that it was probably a fibroadenoma (a non-cancerous lump, common in younger women). However, after doing an ultrasound they became more concerned. I then had a mammogram, and, after that, they took a biopsy of the breast lump and a few of my axillary lymph nodes. Despite all of this, I was still feeling positive that it would turn out to be something benign.

I went back to the clinic on my own to get the results, as I still wasn’t expecting bad news. I was so shocked when they said the lump was cancerous, probably stage 3 and the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. This meant I would need to undergo chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. I felt a rush of adrenaline go through me; I was composed but my hands were shaking and tingling. I felt lightheaded and confused and as I walked out of the clinic, suddenly I was crying and phoning my husband to come and get me.

Later, a PET scan and an MRI confirmed that the cancer was stage 3.

Of course, your first thoughts when you get news like this are about your own survival – was I going to make it through this? But after that I started to think about my fertility too. I’d always assumed I would have children one day and now I didn’t know if that was going to be possible or not.

Should we have egg and embryo freezing?

My first instinct was that I wanted to start cancer treatment as soon as possible and I was hesitant to pursue fertility preservation (freezing eggs or embryos) if it meant delaying my chemotherapy; my husband felt the same. I’d also been diagnosed with hormone-positive cancer, so I was worried about the hormone injections involved. However, my medical team reassured me that protocols are adapted in these cases to keep hormone levels as controlled as possible.

We were told that egg and/or embryo freezing could be arranged quickly (within two weeks). After receiving reassurance from my oncologist that delaying my chemotherapy by two weeks would be safe, I decided to meet with an oncofertility specialist. A private clinic was recommended to us (fertility preservation – egg freezing and embryo freezing is also available on the NHS for cancer patients) and I had my first fertility consultation two weeks after my diagnosis; it all happened very quickly. I was prescribed the drug Letrozole to help keep my oestrogen levels low alongside the hormone injections I would administer daily to stimulate my ovaries to produce eggs.

The hormone injections were actually very manageable. I’d heard from other people that they can make you feel bloated and emotional but actually, looking back, it’s the best I’ve felt since my diagnosis, as I was put in “medical menopause” shortly after my egg retrieval. This period of time was psychologically difficult though. I was in fight-or-flight mode and going into overdrive researching everything.

On egg retrieval day, the procedure went smoothly and the doctors managed to harvest 13 top quality eggs, so I felt incredibly fortunate.

On the day of my first chemotherapy, a few days after the egg retrieval, I received a call from the fertility clinic with the good news that all 13 eggs had been fertilised and 13 high quality embryos had been frozen. It’s very reassuring to know that we have those stored for whenever we decide to start our family.

Fertility treatment has given us options

I’ve completed my active treatment now (my radiotherapy finished in October 2025), but I will be taking Ribociclib for three years. And for at least five years, I will continue taking an aromatase inhibitor, Anastrozole, and receiving a monthly Prostap (leuprorelin acetate) injection to keep my ovaries temporarily suppressed.

My oncologist has said that it should be safe in my case to pause treatment after a couple of years to have a baby. However, on a personal level, I don’t think I would choose to carry a pregnancy myself. That’s based on my own feelings after everything my body has been through, and the anxiety I know I would feel – but I know many women in similar situations do go on to carry pregnancies safely, and it’s a very personal decision.

I would definitely consider surrogacy or adoption in the future. I’m so grateful that my husband and I have the frozen embryos – we had to make the decision about fertility preservation so quickly and it’s comforting to know that we have options.

Get advice from your oncology team

“My advice to anyone who finds themselves in my position would be to speak to your oncology team about fertility preservation as early as possibly, so you understand your options. I would also encourage you try not to make decisions purely based on fear, even though that can feel like the most natural reaction. I told my oncologist I was too scared to delay my breast cancer treatment, but she encouraged me to think carefully about it, as it was such a big decision – and I’m so glad I did. In the end, fertility preservation only delayed my cancer treatment by two weeks, and it means that my husband and I now have options when it comes to starting a family in the future.”

Breast cancer support: book classes, therapies and workshops

In-person or online, wherever you are in the UK. Future Dreams offers a wide variety of group and individual support for women at any stage of a breast cancer journey.

Further information

Future Dreams hold a range of support groups, classes, workshops and events to help you and your carers during your breast cancer diagnosis. These are held both online and in person at the London-based Future Dreams House. To see what’s on offer and to book your place, see here.

To return to the homepage of our Information Hub, click here where you can access more helpful information, practical advice, personal stories and more.

The information and content provided in all guest articles is intended for information and educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice. It is important that all personalised care decisions should be made by your medical team. Please contact your medical team for advice on anything covered in this article and/or in relation to your personal situation. Please note that unless otherwise stated, Future Dreams has no affiliation to the guest author of this article and he/she/they have not been paid to write this article. There may be alternative options/products/information available which we encourage you to research when making decisions about treatment and support. The content of this article was created by Dr Tasha Gandamihardja, an oncoplastic breast surgeon and podcaster and we accept no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of the contents of this article.