Georgia Woman Finds Hope For Fertility In Dallas
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Carly Byrd said she's always wanted to be a mother, to give life.
That's why she traveled from Georgia to at a fertility clinic in Dallas. But before she gives life she must focus on saving her own.
"I can't imagine my life without a child in it," Byrd said.
Byrd, 28, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. It's the third time in three years.
She had a double mastectomy after the first round and was undergoing radiation therapy when she was diagnosed most recently.
"When I was 14 or 15-years-old if you would have asked me what my worst fear was I would have never said cancer," she said. "I would have said not to have my own children."
She'll have to have chemotherapy, and doctors say she will be infertile after her treatment is over.
Lisa Thompson, her mother, understands her daughter's pain. She's been by her side all along and traveled with her to be in Dallas.
"She would be such a gift as a mother," Thompson said.
Doctors in Georgia told the Byrd family about the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine, which gives women like Byrd a chance to have children despite going through chemotherapy.
"She should have a 60 percent chance of conception," said Dr. Walid Saleh, Medical Director of Sher Institue for Reproductive Medicine.
Saleh offers to freeze the eggs of women with cancer for free.
"After chemo the eggs are fried," Saleh said. "We are seeing a lot of younger women that are being diagnosed young enough that they can still freeze and preserve their fertility."
The eggs are frozen and stored once the patient is cancer free they'll be thawed, fertilized and transferred through in-vitro fertilization.
"It doesn't take that much from us just an hour of our time," Saleh said. "It makes a huge impact on that person's life."
Byrd is determined to fight her cancer and refuses to let the disease get in the way of her being a mom.
"I don't want cancer to win that battle," says Byrd.
The procedure normally costs about $10,000. The fertility clinic said some pharmacies and genetic labs are also trying to help cut the costs even more.
