"I think because overall so few women in this age category experience breast cancer there is very little in the public consciousness about the particular challenges they face, not only from the cancer itself, but also from the treatment they use to kill the beast. And there is one very significant piece of information that Adrienne and I learned in initial meetings with her oncology team that drained the blood from my face, and hers.⁠ ⁠ Cancer takes so much. It takes your independence. It steals your peace of mind. It robs you of your savings, of career advancement, of completing your education. It leaves you heartbroken when people you thought would be in your corner either can’t or won’t be there. It makes you look back on your life before and think sometimes that maybe it was all made up. It throws you off of your life path and for many they can never get back on. And even as it takes all of this, cancer’s hunger is still not satisfied because it can deprive you of one more thing.⁠ ⁠ Fertility.⁠ ⁠ My child was 27 when she was diagnosed and she was still contemplating whether or not she wanted to have children. She didn’t have a partner to plan a family with and her focus was on establishing her career, and she knew that she had a lot of time to make the choice to become a mother. We had discussed it a few times and since I hadn’t started my family until I was in my late twenties and had two children when I was in my thirties I “knew” the same thing. And then we were sitting in an oncologist’s office being told that the treatment plan she had to agree to that would give her the best chance at killing her cancer and saving her life might leave her infertile." — @debluc11⁠ ⁠ Debbie shares her perspective on infertility and all that cancer takes as a caregiver to her daughter who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 27. Read more on the blog now via our 🔗 in profile. 💗⁠ ⁠ Debbie regularly writes for the Rethink blog through her lens as a caregiver. Her other reflections can be found at the bottom of today's article! ✨⁠ ⁠ [Image: bright blue background with white text featuring a quote from this caption.]⁠