Before I ever experienced IVF as a practitioner, I lived it as a patient. My first encounter with fertility treatment didn’t begin with infertility. It began with a cancer diagnosis.  Very quickly, the conversation shifted—beyond survival, beyond treatment—into something I hadn’t expected to face so soon:

What would this mean for my ability to have children?

The Decision Before Treatment Began

The medications I needed were life-saving. They were also likely to impact my ovaries, my uterine lining, and any future chance at pregnancy. So the decision came quickly, and it carried weight. If I wanted the possibility of having a biological child, I had to act before treatment even began. 

I moved forward with embryo freezing.  

At the time, it felt surreal—making decisions about future family-building in the middle of a cancer diagnosis. But looking back, it was one of the most important choices I’ve ever made.

The Window

After 1 year of treatment, I was eventually given something that, in fertility terms, changes everything: A window. 

A temporary pause in medication where pregnancy might be possible. But it came with boundaries: A limited timeline - 1 cycle, only 1 try. 

There was so much uncertainty about how my body would respond. I had been on hormone suppressors for over a year. This wasn’t an open-ended journey. It was a narrow opening.

The Transfer Plan

Because of that limited window, my care team made a decision that isn’t typical in most IVF cases today: We transferred two embryos. 

In many situations, a single embryo transfer is preferred to reduce risk. In my case, given the time constraints and unknowns, the goal was simple: To give myself the best possible chance that at least one would implant.

What I Could Control

There is so much in IVF that you can’t control. So I focused on what I could.  I supported my body with:

Acupuncture, Targeted supplementation, Nourishing, consistent nutrition, and a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) based trail mix I made.  

The Emotional Reality

This might be my only chance. Every appointment carries more gravity. Every decision feels amplified. There’s a quiet intensity to it, one that’s difficult to explain unless you’ve lived it.

Looking Back

That cycle was about more than IVF.

It was about timing, risk, medicine, and trust—in the science, in my medical team, my own acupuncture training, and in my own body.

It also fundamentally shaped how I approach fertility care today.  Because behind every protocol, every lab value, every “cycle,” there is a person navigating uncertainty, limitation, and hope in their own way.

Closing Thought

If your timeline feels compressed…If your path doesn’t look like the standard version of IVF…

You are not alone.

Fertility care is often presented as a protocol. But in reality, it is a series of deeply individualized decisions. And sometimes, it’s about making the most of a single window.

In my next post, I’ll share more about what I did during that time, the specific ways I supported my body through that window, and how that experience now shapes the way I care for patients today.