Hi! I've got so many questions

Hi Cass,

sorry to hear about your sisters diagnosis. i am 32, and i have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer  - a week before christmas.  i joined this forum last week and have been working up to making a post. its a lot easier to start by responding to your questions! i have found these last few weeks overwhelming in terms of information, appointments etc. and know how your sister is feeling. my sisters have also been a great help to me through this time :)

I had surgery on 2nd january, and now going through the process of freezing some eggs before i start chemotherapy. i have recently been asking many of the same questions as you. here are a couple of comments that might be useful - everyone's diagnosis is different though so it might end up being different for your sister too.

- i'm going through the public system. it has been great so far. some advice from a friend who is an oncologist was that for cancer, the public hospitals, especially in big cities, are very good. so far i have certainly found this - no waiting time, my own room on all ocasions, experienced surgeon and very supportive breast nurses.

- about a week after the surgery (lumpsectomy) i went back to hear the results of the tests they had done of the removed tissue. At this point, i met the encologist and they were able to give me a clearer idea of the sort of follow treatment i needed, and confirmed that chemo would be required. That is when they set me up with an appointment to see the fertility team at the hospital. hopefully there will be someone who can speak to your sister at this point and talk her through the options and process of egg freezing.

- Depending on the timing of surgery and urgency of going into chemo, it is sometimes difficult to fit in the whole process. it seems that it takes about a month to get it all done, beginning from the first day of your period, so that is something to talk over with your breast nurse.

- when it is  'medical' reasons for freezing eggs, the costs are reduced. there is also a $500 discount for public patients, and a big chunk of the cost of the process is covered by medicare and is refunded a few days after you pay it. i have worked out that to freeze eggs will cost about $3000 after all the refunds come back. if you decide to do ivf later, it costs you per try (and it may take many trys) but there is a good chance given your sisters age that she may not need the ivf part. i guess freezing eggs now is like an insurance policy.

- melbourne ivf has a website with a lot of info on it.

http://mivf.com.au/fertility-treatment/fertility-preservation

i hope some of this helps. it is such a roller coaster of emotions at this time, for me the more i talk about it the easier it is to accept and just get on with things. all the best to you and your sister.

laura x