Beginning Our IVF Journey
My story started in early 2014 when I was 34 years old. After 3 years of marriage with my husband, we decided to start a family therefore I stopped taking birth control. After that, my cycles went crazy so I went to see a gynecologist. She did a neck check looking for lumps, but did not feel any. Despite not finding a lump, she recommended I get an ultrasound just to be sure. The ultrasound showed a nodule on the left lobe of my thyroid and I was sent for a biopsy. The biopsy was suspicious so I was scheduled to have surgery to investigate. The surgeon told me they would test the lump while in surgery; if it was cancerous they would remove the whole thyroid. I woke up in recovery, alone, and the nurse told me they removed the whole thyroid. I don’t think she knew what she was telling me, I had cancer. The whole thing was a whirlwind, from heavy periods to cancer, in about only two months.
After I recovered, I was sent to an endocrinologist for the rest of my treatment. I had one round of radioactive iodine treatment and then several whole body scans to confirm that there was no evidence of disease. I take and will always take synthetic thyroid hormone for the rest of my life, which has to be adjusted often. I will also have scans every 2, 3, 4 and then every 5 years for the rest of my life.
Life after cancer has been a challenge, but I am surprised how far I have come. It took a while to feel “normal.” Getting the right level of medication was challenging and continues to be so. I have made major changes to my diet and lifestyle. I’ve lost 70 lbs, which is quite a feat with no thyroid! We were able to start trying for a family again about three years ago, but have not had much luck. After one miscarriage, three medicated cycles, and three IUI procedures we are now moving on to IVF. IVF is what led us to LIVESTRONG. We were so thrilled to hear about their fertility assistance program, it is truly a blessing! We are nervous, yet excited to begin our IVF journey. We are so grateful to have LIVESTRONG fertility to help us along the way.
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