My First Mother’s Day

I have always felt so lucky on Mother’s Day.  Lucky to have a mom who has always made me feel so special and loved, someone who reminds me that everything will be OK when life is rough, and shares in my joy when life is good.  I think about the women I know who have lost their moms and appreciate how blessed to have mine with me.

When I was diagnosed with early stage Breast Cancer five years ago, fertility preservation was not top of mind. The doctors didn’t seem too concerned with it and I was too overwhelmed to think beyond my treatments.  I underwent a lumpectomy, six rounds of chemotherapy, and radiation. I was always hopeful that I would recover and be able to have a child one day.

Three years after my treatment ended, my husband and I decided to try to have a baby. My oncologist sent me for testing to assess my fertility. After reviewing the results, the fertility specialist told us that it would be very difficult for me to conceive.

It seemed so unfair that after everything I had been through I may not get to have the baby I wanted so badly.

My husband was more optimistic: difficult, but not impossible, he reminded me. So we tried. I took my temperature every morning and began seeing a Chinese medicine doctor every week for fertility acupuncture. A few months later, to our complete surprise, we found out I was pregnant! After all my body had been through I was a little amazed it was going to do this for me. After so many years of unpleasant doctor’s visits to discuss cancer, it was so nice to sit in a waiting room with other pregnant women to talk about a new life that I was carrying.

This past August I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl we named Zara. She is eight months old now, a little miracle with tons of energy and a huge personality.  This perfect little person I love more than I thought was ever possible. Not a day goes by that I don’t look at her and think of how blessed I am to be her mom. I pray that I will be as good a mom to her as my mom is to me.  I look forward to sharing my first my first Mother’s Day with my little miracle and my amazing mom.

Happy Mother’s Day

– Janelle Blair

Unfortunately, some young women are not as fortunate as Janelle and experience many issues when trying to conceive after breast cancer. The Baby Time research will provide patients and doctors with more information and the ability to make informed decisions when wanting to become a mother after breast cancer without increasing the risk of recurrence. Please DONATE TODAY to help make the Baby Time research possible.