“My story is a message of hope: you can become a mother again after breast cancer.”

Our story began around June 2014 when, after some time trying to conceive naturally without success, we decided to see a gynaecologist. After a series of blood tests and an ultrasound, we were referred directly to the reproductive unit of our referral hospital. After another examination, and following a lifetime of complaining about menstrual pain that had never been taken seriously, I left with a diagnosis of endometriosis, which led us directly to in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

I will not go into much detail about those five years, with the necessary breaks along the way, but we started at our public hospital, where we underwent two IVF cycles. The result was three transfers, two pregnancies (one ending at week six and another at week ten), and one negative result. After these disappointments, we decided to go to a private clinic to look for other options and something more tailored to our situation, choosing a local clinic in our province. We made a first attempt with a very poor cycle, in which few embryos were obtained. However, we were able to proceed with the transfer and, as always, I became pregnant… but it did not progress. On the recommendation of this clinic, we were told that my eggs were of very poor quality, and after thinking it over, we agreed to proceed with egg donation. We carried out one cycle with a donor, which allowed for two transfers. In both cases, the result was again a positive beta test, but neither pregnancy progressed. At that point, and after confirming that the problem was not so much my eggs—since the outcome had been the same with donor eggs—we decided to return to the public system. We had been approved for a third cycle, using my own eggs. The result of that cycle was once again infinitely better than the one at the private clinic; however, once more, we ended the cycle with a positive beta that did not progress favourably. Then came a fourth cycle, and the result was the same as always.

In total, we had undergone six cycles, resulting in ten transfers, six non-viable pregnancies and four negative results. We were very tired and, above all, had invested a great deal of hope, time, and money.

During all that time, I continued researching clinics, even visiting them to see what diagnosis and options they could offer us. However, the plan they proposed was the same one we had already repeated six times, and we felt as if we were in a tunnel with no way out. We also sought help from immunology, since I suffer from several autoimmune diseases (coeliac disease, Hashimoto’s, and endometriosis). In the last public healthcare cycle, they even included an immunologist’s protocol, but it did not work either.

In 2019, after the last transfer in the public system, they told us they could not help us any further, as they did not have the necessary resources. That was when, while looking for clinics specialising in endometriosis and highly complex reproductive cases, I came across Equipo Juana Crespo and made an appointment, taking advantage of a trip we had planned to Valencia.

I told my husband about it, and he said it would be more of the same. However, after our first visit with Juana, we left feeling hopeful, because for the first time in years we had been given and explained something completely different.

We took a few weeks to think it over. Psychologically, we were very low; financially, it was a major effort; and professionally, it was complicated because of the travel involved. But we decided to place our trust in them and give ourselves this final opportunity. And what a good decision that was! Not even in our best dreams could we have imagined the ending.

Our first visit was in May 2019. We went through two cycles—according to us, to make sure we would achieve the pregnancy; according to Juana, to have embryos for the future sibling. From the very beginning, we made it clear that we would undergo those retrievals and that I would never take stimulation medication again. With these, it was already the eighth time I had been stimulated, and we needed to close that chapter. In October, I underwent surgical hysteroscopy and laparoscopy (thank you, Dr Norman). Then in November, after receiving the green light from our dear Dr Sara Fortuño, and with just one transfer—truly magical, by the way, and performed by Juana—in the company of my husband (until then, I had always been accompanied only by the medical team; my husband had never been allowed in), they transferred two embryos… and yes, I was pregnant! I won’t lie: my beta was very low, as it always had been. In fact, I didn’t get my hopes up, because I thought the same thing would happen again. But this time it didn’t, and although fear accompanied us throughout the pregnancy, in July 2020—after a short and very good labour—our wonderful daughter was born.

We visited them in December of that same year and introduced them to our little girl. We also took the opportunity for Juana to examine me and set out the guidelines for when we wanted to try for a sibling, and we left with a new plan, since we didn’t want to wait too long given our history.

But things don’t always go as planned, and in the middle of all that overwhelming happiness, when our daughter was only nine months old, we received one of the worst pieces of news… I had a small lump in my breast from before the pregnancies, which had been monitored yearly. It was a fibroadenoma.

It had changed to the touch during the pregnancy, but I was told that this could be normal due to all the hormones. After giving birth, I insisted that the lump felt different, but since I was breastfeeding, I was told again to wait until everything stabilised. Finally, after insisting for a long time, I went to my GP, who referred me to the breast pathology unit, and the diagnosis came: I had cancer—breast cancer. Our world came to a halt until the tumour was fully identified. We had to put many things on hold, including our plans with Equipo Juana Crespo. We were “lucky” and caught it at a very early stage. The treatment consisted of a lumpectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy (which was negative), and 20 sessions of radiotherapy because I was under 40, followed by annual check-ups. The cancer was not hormone-related, so I did not need to take medication.

Once the storm had passed, the desire to become parents again and give our daughter a sibling returned. With it came the questions for my gynaecologist and oncologist… Could I get pregnant again? Would it put my health at risk? At first, neither of them knew what to tell me, but after reviewing my case, their answer was unanimous: there was nothing that contraindicated a pregnancy. What they did recommend was avoiding medication as much as possible.

We called Equipo Juana Crespo and told them what our doctors had said. They proposed a new plan, completely different from the original one, as this new situation required it. Once again, they adapted to my circumstances, and that reassured me. In November 2022, Sara examined me to see whether I needed another surgical hysteroscopy. It was not necessary; the diagnostic hysteroscopy was enough to remove some chocolate-like residues she did not like. So, in December 2022, we began a new preparation, this time in a natural cycle to avoid medication. It culminated in a transfer, once again performed by Juana, and this time accompanied by my sister—and with a positive result before the end of the year. The beginning of 2023 was not easy, as I had a fairly heavy haemorrhage, but it resolved with rest. Later check-ups confirmed that it came from a large haematoma which, fortunately, did not put the embryo at risk. This haematoma accompanied us until after week 12, but fortunately the rest of the pregnancy progressed wonderfully. At the end of August, after a very quick labour, our second daughter was born. I was able to establish exclusive breastfeeding again (and, now that she is almost 14 months old, we are still continuing), and with that we closed this chapter with this wonderful team, to whom we will always be grateful.

With this testimony, I would like to give hope to all those women and couples who find themselves in the same situation as I did, and to share the message that it is possible to become a mother and breastfeed after overcoming breast cancer.