FRIDAY'S DIGEST: Fertility Facts, News and Views - Cancer Treatment and Fertility

Women of childbearing age and men battling cancer, will sadly find that their infertility is affected due to cancer treatment.

Cancer treatment can affect fertility in a number of ways although it largely depends on the age, type of medication used, type of cancer and target area for chemotherapy or radiation.

Infertility can be permanent or temporary although it can never be determined how soon it will be restored.

This is why women and men diagnosed with cancer have been preserving their fertility. Women are freezing embryos, having parts of their ovaries frozen or take a hormone which puts their ovaries into temporary menopause, while men are doing sperm banking, which simply involves collecting a sample of semen and freezing it.

I learnt as recently as yesterday, on a local newscast, that there seem to be a new drug that can be administered to women at the time of their cancer treatment, which also freezes the ovaries until cancer treatment is completed so that later when a woman decides to have children, her ovaries will be unaffected by her cancer treatment, making it possible and safe to conceive.

Apparently this finding is very new because I was not able to find any further information online. I will continue to check, so stay tuned for more on this.

The more we know.....








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GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS - The Power of Growth

Growth is such a liberating experience and this is why today, I am grateful for Growth.

I remember not so long ago, being affected by everything, if someone gave me a constructive criticism I would see it as a personal attack. I was extremely defensive of my stammer and if I walk pass a group of people and they were laughing and talking, no one could convince me that they were not talking about me (how important would I need to be?). I was so obsessed with seeking people's approval and having everyone like me.

Well, I am so happy to say, I am no longer that person. I no longer seek people's approval and does not care so much  what others think or want to say about me. I march to the beat of my own drum and love and embrace all of me - my curves, my edges, my freckles and all my limitations because you know what, our limitations keep us grounded, humble and connected to our source. I don't know about you, but I choose to attribute this liberation to growth.

For those of us who are Christians, growth is equally important and critical to our Christian walk. Growth is how we know that our lives are matching up to God's will. For the pass two weeks, my local Church has being doing a series on 'A time for Celebration' - Walking into our Rest. For their obedience and faithfulness, God promised the Israelites a time of rest and restoration after they settled in the land he had promised them. At that time, they were not to cultivate the land at all but it would still  provide for them even though they were doing no planting. He also instructed them to mark seven times of those seven years (every fifty years) as a celebration of Jubilee - a time when they were to rest from their labors, no planting or harvesting and all slaves bought, should be sent back to their families. He also instructed that all properties sold be restored to its original owner. This was to be a year of restoration and rest (Leviticus 25 V 1-32).  The account of the Israelites journey to the promised land, did not by any means said it was easy, there were times when they grumbled against God and second guessed His will for them.

In the same way, in order for us to receive our rest, restoration and blessings from our Lord, growth must take place, and this mainly is, being obedient to God's divine will for our lives, this is no easy task, as we see regarding the children of Israel, but He promises to to be with us every step of the way. He so wants to give us rest and bestow blessings on us, but we must show him that we are growing sufficiently in him to handle every good thing that he promises us.

Have a grateful day, and a day being mindful of the power growth.

Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) symptoms improve as a woman gets older.

As a sufferer of PCOS ( a condition with symptoms including cysts on the ovaries, resulting in very irregular menstrual cycles and infertility), I have been noticing that my symptoms have drastically improved and have also been wondering if this is as a result of age.

Turns out I was totally on point. I am part of a Facebook PCOS support group and I did see it mentioned in a comment thread, that PCOS symptoms do improve as women get older, and so I decided to do my own research.

And so it is, according to research, as a woman ages, her PCOS symptoms do improve. Some sex hormones and  menstrual cycles improve and as a result,  older women with PCOS find it easier to become pregnant. This evidence also led the researchers to believe that women diagnosed with PCOS goes into menopause later, than those who are not diagnosed.

This is indeed great news. However, there is also not so good news. It is found too, that women diagnosed with PCOS, as they gets older, had greater C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, impaired glucose metabolism and insulin resistance and these levels seemed to worsen with age. This brought about the conclusion that women with PCOS face life-long health risks, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic problems. Proper diagnosis and management of PCOS is therefore recommended.

Read more......



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GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS ".....Prayer moves the hand that rules the world...."

Today I am so grateful for prayers.

I was introduced to prayer at an early age, because as early as the morning was, I would wake up to the voice of my mother praying and just before bedtime, I would again hear my mother praying.

Even though I was young, I could still recognise the passion, conviction and sincerity with which my mom prayed. She got her results and as she still continues to pray, she continues to reap much blessings in her life, to the point where she has been able to bless the lives of others around her.

The other day a very good friend of mine asked me to join her in prayer for some health issues she is being faced with, and I remember in my encouragement to her, said, that  prayer is one of the tools we have against issues we are subjected to in our lives. She agreed promptly.

As we go about our daily lives, let us remember that God is just a prayer away and stands only too willing to help us though the many and varied difficulties that we face each day. All we need to do is engage him and watch him work.

As prayers are being offered up on behalf of my friend, we wait with confidence, as God works everything out, according to his promises for his children.

Have a grateful day and do, pray for someone today.









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Widely available urine-based ovulation tests, more accurate in detecting ovulation.

For decades now, women have largely used the manual calendar method in detecting ovulation, to help them conceive. I was a slave to this method and it only worked for me after my cycles became more regular.

Researchers say this commonly used method is not accurate at all. What is more accurate is the widely available urine-based ovulation tests sold in drugstores.

The manual calendar method, used by about 35% of women trying to conceive, relies on the length of the previous cycle ( which is known to vary from woman to woman),  subtracting 14/15 days, to give an estimate of the day which ovulations occurs. This method is, up until now, subjected to scientific scrutiny. 

The widely available urine-based ovulation test on the other hand, is able to cope with varying length of cycles and is able to detect the surge in luteinising hormone (LH) which triggers ovulation . These tests comes with a digital reader and test sticks. These sticks are placed in the urine stream and if your LH is elevated, then the relevant indicator is displayed on the screen of the digital reader.

For women still relying on the calendar method to detect ovulation, this is certainly a more accurate alternative.

Read more by following the link below:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110705091502.htm

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GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS - For health and strength........we praise Thy name oh Lord....Amen.....

A couple of days ago, I learnt about the death of a young lady (age 19), whose story I had been following. She was recently diagnosed with a rear form of bone cancer, found mostly in people her age and she died before she could get the appropriate treatment that could have prolonged her life, if only for a little longer. Since her death, I have been constantly thinking about her.

Just moments ago, I learnt about a former co-worker who passed as a result of a heart condition. She took seriously ill recently and sadly, died.

I cannot help but be thankful for my health, and the health of my loved ones and even more, when I hear about cases like these. These are all young people, who have not lived to see old age, they are gone to soon.

Because of the age I had my children, they could have been born with many health issues, but my God is so faithful they have both been born very healthy and perfect children. I am eternally grateful for this and everything else that is good in my life.

Rest In Peace dearest Shakera and Patrice, I personally believe fatal illnesses are fought by the brave.







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MONDAY RAMBLINGS - Babies, babies Everywhere....

This weekend I saw a lot of babies, what is more pleasing to the eyes than cute babies. I heard my husband yelling for me to come and look at something on television. Guess what it was, a cute little girl with natural curl pigtails. Even he was smitten by the cute baby bug.

In Church, it was as if there was a babies convention and I found myself drifting off into babyland, fantasizing about holding a little cutie of my own. I was quickly jolted back into reality though, because my age, physical state and most of all, my finances would never allow having another baby.

I remember saying to a friend of mine recently, that if I found myself pregnant again, I would just walk right into a phsychiatric ward and commit myself. I would not wait for anyone to take me there. I said this only for the above reasons, because if I could, I would want the most, two more to make another even number (4). Why not, especially after such an intense struggle with infertility.

I can see why some women have a lot of children, because we tend to forget the pain and sleepless nights when we see cute cuddly babies.

In my parents days, they had a lot of children, I am the fifth of seven and I personally know of one that my parents lost to stillbirth. Apart from the fact that contraception was not very popular in those days, I am thinking that they were also subject to what I want to call, the 'baby envy syndrome.''

How about you, have you ever been a victim of the 'baby envy' syndrome.

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE.







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The effect of Thyroid Disorder on a woman's fertility.

When I was struggling with infertility, I was often asked on a few occasions, if my doctor had ever checked my thyroid ,because thyroid disease is a contributing factor for infertility.  Maybe he did, I don't know, the subject did not come up so I guess he ruled that out very early for me.

Thyroid disease can have a negative effect on a woman's fertility and for those diagnosed with infertility, a thyroid examination should be done to determine if this is a factor.  A thyroid examination should also be considered if a woman is having early pregnancy losses as thyroid disease could be a factor too.

The thyroid produces two hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine which are responsible for growth and development, mainly brain development. When the thyroid does not function correctly there can be great impact on the reproductive function, before during and after conception

Read more about thyroid disease and its effect on fertility.......

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150123081929.htm







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MONDAY RAMBLINGS - Out of the mouth of babes.......

One thing I have learnt from parenting, and keep learning over and over again, is that we are never completely prepared for what our children dish out to us each day.

With my decade long struggle with infertility, I thought I was so prepared, having had all that time to observe and learn from other parents. Turns out that was not nearly enough preparation.

I have been told on a few occasions that when you have children later in life, they come with very big personalities and man, can that statement be more true. My father has said to me on a few occasions that my kids are incarnated, they have been around through their ancestors and I must say, I totally agree to that.

My children are high energy kids and give them a little sugar you have to call for back up. The other day they were up to their usual selves, I called out to them, asking them to tone it down because we have neighbors below us. My son calmed down just long enough to say, "mom, we are kids and we are going to do what kids do."

I could not respond, I just stood their feeling totally defeated, thinking, 'yes, papa you are so right.' I have just been schooled by a child I thought and so I had no choice but to concede defeat, vowing to remember to choose my battles next time.

HAPPY MONDAY, ALL.








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INFERTILITY NEWS, FACTS AND VIEWS – Getting Pregnant over 40

More and more women are getting pregnant in their forties. This is due to several reasons, one, infertility (in my case), another we want to secure a career first and yet another, we want to marry that dream husband and start a family.

Sadly, though, because of the fact that at that stage in a woman's body, her healthy eggs are on the decline, it becomes more difficult to get pregnant in our forties. In fact getting pregnant begins getting more difficult as a woman passes the age of 35.

I have been following this blog, ‘Pregnancy over 40’ ever since I began my blogging and the author, Sandy Robertson (who herself had her child over the age of 40), has some helpful information and hints for women trying to get pregnant over the age of forty.

In this particular post, she talks about the law of attraction in getting pregnant – How to attract the things we desire to our lives.

Excerpt from post

……..“As we learn more about using the Law of Attraction consciously in our lives, we become masters at visualizing, affirming, and attracting what we desire. We learn how to infuse our desires with emotion and power, we learn how to raise our vibrations through joyful thoughts and align ourselves more fully with the circumstances we want to bring about……..

Read more

http://infertility-fertility.blogspot.com/2015/01/law-of-attraction-and-getting-pregnant.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FjWzXt+%28Infertility-Fertility+Over+40%29

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GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS - ........another chance to get it right.

In my last post (“still standing”),  I should have also attributed my continued step toward acceptance of myself as someone who stutters, to the fact that for a while now  I have been trying to become a more grateful person, giving thanks for everything in my life, good or bad (because there are life lessons in the bad), every blessing whether great  or small. It is out of this that I started my ‘Grateful Wednesday’ segment on my blog and I know this has been contributing to the happier me.

I have seen the statement.........”another day, another chance to get it right” a couple times and I have even used it myself. I love this statement because I find it so. point on and relevant. In our daily life, we are never at all times satisfied with how we handle things, with how we treat others -  I could have been way more helpful to that person in need, I could have listened more to my friend who needed  a listening ear, I could have been kinder, more present, more patient and I could go on.

Thank goodness we are  given chances to be our better selves  or else this life would just not make sense. Some of us sadly, do not use these second chances. I am so grateful that in my small corner, I am doing the best I can.

Have a  'Grateful Wednesday' everyone and be kind to one another.

MONDAY RAMBLINGS – I am still Standing

This being my first post for the year, I want to give an update on how things have been going with me since I came out on this blog, to the world as a Stutterer.

 http://onereachinganother.blogspot.com/2014/09/grateful-wednesdays-on-self-acceptance.html

I did this not to gain anything more than that, I just want to accept myself for who I am, someone who stutters. I tried for years to do this, but I was not at the place on my journey yet to be successful at this. This morning, I came across this statement in my devotional .....”You are at the happiest in your life when you decide that your problems are your own." - David had to own his sin and continously admit his shortcomings for God to use him to become a man after his own heart (2 Samuel 12;13). - Stop blaming others and circumstances.

Not so long ago, I blamed God for causing me to be the only one out of my six siblings that stuttered. I blamed my family for not giving me the validation that I think I needed to better deal with this condition. As for my father, I blamed him the most since he stutters as well. I was angry for a long time. I refused to just accept the fact that this is my problem and I am the one who would have to deal with what it threw at me.

Well, my journey of total acceptance continues and I am happy to report that I find myself speaking more and more fluently now (I do have bad days, when I stumble and even fall, but I get up, brush myself off and keep chuggimg along).  More and more each day I find it easier to ask for assistance in a store. In times pass,  I would walk until my feet hurt looking for things. I am not as a terrified anymore of standing in a line at a fast food restaurant to order anything.  As for just striking up a conversation with a stranger, not too long along ago, the thought of that would give me a full-blown panic attack, Now,  I am the one starting a conversation.

This breakthrough for me has been a long time coming and it started from my victory over infertility. I just needed to claim this victory with confidence, and let it work in other areas of my life.

 I am certainly at a happier place in my life now and just the other day I was able to post on a comment thread for an online Stuttering Group which I am a part of, that I am no longer stuttering  as much anymore and I think it is largely due to the fact that I am at this  happier better place in my life.

Being a mom does contribute to this happier space that I am in. Yes I am tired and feel as if I have not slept in three years, but I am over the moon about my role and would not change it for anything else.

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Off My Hiatus Again.

Dont know if you noticed, I have not blogged for a couple months, since resuming last September. With my daughter getting older, and more active and alert, I have been finding no time to devote to my blogging which I love so much.

Good news, she has been going to Daycare these last couple of days and so I will now find time to devote to things that validate and uplift me, like my blogging.

See you for my next post and thanks for not giving up on me.














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