Beyond Despair—How oncology and fertility teams provide hope to patients

Melina Melcone and her boyfriend

This past spring, within a span of three weeks, I went from feeling a mass in my left breast to seeing it. There was some swelling, but no pain. I wasn’t worried though because of my young age—I am 26. 

It came as a total shock then when I was told by experts at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), that I in fact had breast cancer and I would need to have chemotherapy. That’s when my world came crashing down. 

Everything happened so quickly after this. I had many appointments in the same week— MRI’s, scans, bone density tests, everything to check to see if the cancer had spread. The good news was it had not, so I met with my oncologist to start a treatment plan. He immediately mentioned the option of freezing and preserving my eggs before receiving chemotherapy treatments. 

Considering I am in a serious relationship— we live together, we have a dog, and having kids was always part of our life plan—this is an option that I thank my oncologist for every day. We suspended the start of my chemo by 10 days and I immediately met with the fertility team at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH). 

I was told to take hormone injections twice a day for 10 days, which was not fun, but my boyfriend did it for me. After the 10 days, I underwent the very short procedure. My eggs are now housed at the RVH. 

I finished my chemo in August and I had my surgery in October, during which the tumour and my lymph nodes were removed. I still need to have radiation treatments but I can now see the finish line and my world is not so bleak. 

My boyfriend and I plan to get married one day and if everything goes according to plan we will start our family in about five years. If we can’t get pregnant naturally we will book another kind of appointment at the MUHC—one to unfreeze my eggs as we start another leg of our life journey. 

Thank you, 

MELINA MELCONE 

This past summer Melina kept her commit-ment as a bridesmaid for her friend, even though she just finished her chemotherapy treatments and was weeks away from breast surgery. She is pictured here with her boyfriend, François-Olivier Bélanger, at the wedding. 

Watch the video for a behind the scenes look at how our Cancer Care and Women’s Health missions work together to provide the best care possible for our female oncology patients and families.