Fertility Preservation Helps Young Breast Cancer Survivor Grow Her Family

Woman in sunflower field

Susan VanNess of Wake Forest was breastfeeding her son when she felt a lump in her breast. She thought it was a cyst or clogged milk duct and made an appointment with her obstetrician. The 38-year-old mother of two wanted to get pregnant again and figured she could discuss both topics at the visit. When she learned the lump was breast cancer, she was shocked. “I had a one-year-old and my daughter was about to turn four," VanNess said. "Obviously, your first thoughts turn to them growing up without a mother.”

Read more in this Duke Health article. Photo credit: Susan VanNess Photography.