http://www.cosbeauty.com.au 123by day surgery under a light sedation
to retrieve the eggs. Other side effects
I experienced were bloating, stomach
cramps and mood swings.’
Despite her traumatic ordeal,
Jess remains hopeful and happy
and is overjoyed that through her
experience, she can help others.
‘It helped me to connect with
other young women who were going
through this and that is how I found
the Pink Hope community. My
friends and family, as supportive as
they were, had no idea what I was
going through and were not able to
provide me with advice.
‘Pink Hope fosters a community
where there is no judgement –
something that is rare among young
women in today’s society. Through
this community I have met other
young women who have provided me
with the knowledge, coping skills and
support to get me through what has
been the hardest time of my life.
And as for her future, Jess holds
nothing but high hopes!
‘I am really lucky that the
injections I had during chemotherapy
worked for me, and Travers and I just
completed a second round of IVF.
This is because we were fortunate
enough to be able to genetically test
the four embryos we create at the
start of this process. Less fortunately,
three of them had the BRCA gene,
which meant we were left with one
embryo that had a 40 per cent chance
of working. During this second
round we were able to get five more
embryos, three of which don’t have
the gene. This places us in a really
good position to be able to have a
family!’
‘Travers and I got married in
October last year, and my little dog
Ari was in the wedding party. We
know have four embryos that we
can use to start our family. Everyone
wants to know when we are going to
start. It is a hard one because we were
living overseas when it was diagnosed.
I had come back for my 30th and to
get the MRI and I was not at a time
in my life where I could have a child.
Not that there is ever a good time!
‘Cancer ruined my fricken plans!!
There is still a lot to do before I have
kids and can’t do what I want to do.
This sounds selfish but it is the way
it is. The ‘kids’ are there ready to go
when I need them! At the moment,
I need my sleep. I can’t be up all
night with a crying baby. Maybe in
six months, maybe in a year... at the
moment it’s a bit daunting.
‘I am back at work full-time and
I feel really good. I am trying to get
back into a normal routine, although
my energy levels are not where they
were. But I am doing really well, and I
am so grateful!’‘
Despite her traumatic ordeal, Jess
remains hopeful and happy and is
overjoyed that through her experience,
she can help others.
’