23-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT ‘SO GRATEFUL’ TO FREEZE HER EGGS AHEAD OF CHEMO

23-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT ‘SO GRATEFUL’ TO FREEZE HER EGGS AHEAD OF CHEMO

A 23-year-old cancer survivor has shared the shock she felt when told the chemotherapy treatment needed for a recently diagnosed cancer might affect whether she could have a baby afterwards, and the precautionary egg freezing she had as a result.

Nail technician Georgia Hall said: “I was never in any doubt about having my eggs frozen to preserve my fertility once I knew about the risk of chemo causing infertility. I am so grateful the procedure was available to me, and thankful to the team at BCRM who made it happen.

“And I think this issue needs wider publicity because I didn’t know anything about it until I was personally affected.”

Georgia, who has been documenting parts of her fertility and cancer journey on TikTok as @Georgiaedie, was living in Bristol when she noticed a lump on the side of her neck in October 2024.

Tests revealed she was in the early stages of Hodgkin lymphoma, a relatively aggressive cancer that can spread quickly through the body, but which is fairly easily treatable if diagnosed early.

“A few days after the cancer diagnosis, I had a phone call from a support nurse who suggested I should consider having my eggs frozen to preserve my future fertility.

“I had no idea the treatment I needed might affect my fertility: it was really hard to get my head around. I’d always seen having kids as part of my future.

“The cancer was the bigger issue, but when I came to terms with that it was reassuring to know it needn’t affect what I’d imagined for my future.

“When I was beginning the fertility treatment and looked online about other people’s experiences there didn’t seem to be much about it on socials, so I thought I’d share on TikTok.

“I was very lucky that my cancer had been diagnosed while it was still in the early stages: later on I might not have been able to freeze my eggs because the cancer would have needed treating more urgently.

“A week after the phone call from the support nurse I was at St Michael’s maternity hospital having an internal scan, and less than a week after that I started treatment at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

“After a fortnight of daily hormone injections to stimulate egg production, with me attending BCRM every other day so they could monitor egg development and identify the best time to remove them, my eggs were ready for retrieval.

“I was a bit nervous when I went for the procedure because I’m not used to hospitals despite my cancer diagnosis, but the nurses at the clinic were amazing, so so nice. They put my mind at rest and everything was fine.

“There were lots of other women there waiting to have the same thing done, and it’s very quick. I had a local anaesthetic and a relaxant which pretty much knocked me out, but I didn’t feel drowsy or unwell afterwards and was able to leave after half an hour. My dad collected me.

“The egg retrieval was on a Monday and by Friday of the same week I was having my first chemo session – it was all super-quick.

“Thankfully my cancer was only at stage one, so I only needed two cycles of low-dose chemo and two weeks of radiotherapy.”

Georgia was given the all-clear in May, but will continue to be monitored until the end of next year because the two-year period following diagnosis is the time patients are most at risk of the cancer recurring.

Georgia said: “Twenty of my retrieved eggs were mature enough to be frozen, and the treatment was funded by the NHS, including having them stored free of charge for five years at BCRM.

“If I haven’t used the eggs by the time I’m 29, I’ll have to pay a small amount annually to keep them frozen, but since I didn’t even lose my periods during my treatment I’m hoping my fertility will be unaffected and I won’t need them at all.

“You just don’t know though, so definitely better safe than sorry.”

Dr Rebecca Davies, clinical fellow in reproductive medicine at BCRM, said: “Facing a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming in itself and learning that it could also affect your ability to have children in the future can be an added shock.

“I am proud that we are able to offer such a vital service to people in this situation — fertility preservation can provide hope and choices beyond their immediate treatment.

“We work hard to ensure that we can offer egg and sperm freezing quickly and safely, often within days.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to help people protect their fertility at a time when so much else can feel out of their control."

Read more about Fertility Preservation