Childhood cancer causes infertility for couple trying to conceive
Lafayette couple faced with infertility due to past cancer treatment awarded Gift of Hope IVF Grant 2009.
At the age of 5, Shane was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphona and was treated with chemotherapy and radiation after the tumor in his colon was surgically removed. At the time, his parents were told that long-term side effects to the drugs administered to Shane were unknown, but sterility and organ damage were high on the list. Shane spent much of his childhood in and out of hospitals and commuting from Patterson to New Orleans for treatment. Spinal taps, IVs and playing inside rather than around other kids due to the risk of infection became his lifestyle. Repeating a grade in school also resulted. Despite these obstacles, he graduated from Louisiana Technical College with a degree in drafting.
But in 1997 his heart began to fail as a result of the chemotherapy he received as a child. However, with careful diet, exercise, proper medication and medical attention, Shane’s heart is now functioning well. After marrying Jesse, a receptionist for a local energy company, they began trying to have a child with no success. Further testing proved that Shane’s past chemotherapy had indeed made him sterile and their only hope of conceiving a child would be through in vitro fertilization. Once again, the chemotherapy administered to keep a young boy alive had dealt them another blow in their efforts to start their family. To add to this, the couple’s medical insurance does not cover treatment for any infertility related procedures.