Do you ever feel like you’ve been given ALL of the mountains to move? You sat down in a clinic in one of those uncomfortable chairs. Your doctor held a sheet of paper and looked at you with heavy eyes as they said those words you will never unhear. Those words, “the biopsy showed that you have cervical cancer…”. Cancer. Everything after that is a blur.
After your cancer diagnosis and treatment, you may have thought that your big battles are over. But then the time comes to start trying for a baby, and you realize another scar cancer has left you with – infertility. While living with both cancer and infertility is devastating, surrogacy may be a pathway forward.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is where abnormal cells on the cervix, the opening to the uterus, grow out of control. It is usually due to the HPV virus. 13,000 women each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and many of them are young. Cervical cancer can have dire impacts on fertility because it affects the womb and is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in pregnant women.
How can cervical cancer impact fertility?
Treatment of cervical cancer can lead to infertility and pregnancy loss. Surgery or radiation used to treat cancer can lead to
- scarring on the cervix or uterus
- removal of most of all of the cervix
- non-functioning ovaries
- hysterectomy (removing the uterus)
- oophorectomy (removing ovaries)
Is surrogacy an option if I had cervical cancer?
Surrogacy allows you to have a child without being pregnant. So, surrogacy may be a good option if you can no longer carry a pregnancy due to cervical cancer treatments. People turn to surrogacy for many reasons. Uterine problems like scar tissue or a hysterectomy are common in the surrogacy community. While I wasn’t diagnosed with cancer, I did have medical complications that led to a hysterectomy and left me forever unable to become pregnant. Thanks to surrogacy, we welcomed our baby into this world a few years later.
The surrogacy community has a lot of compassion toward people who are facing or have survived cancer. Your story and what you’ve overcome may resonate with a potential surrogate. Special grants also give financial support to those whose fertility is affected by cancer.
Cervical cancer does not have to steal your dreams of parenthood. Surrogacy can be the option to overcome the hurdles put in front of you and build the family that you want.
Are you interested in learning more about the steps you need to take to succeed in surrogacy? Download this free guide.
