Inspiration

Last fall, we introduced our community to Allyn Rose, a breast cancer previvor, well known women’s health advocate, former Miss USA and Miss America contestant, and full-time model.

Under the care of Dr. Kate Devine, Allyn decided to go through IVF treatment and PGT-M to reduce the risk of having a child with an inherited condition.

Allyn is documenting her journey to motherhood via blogs and videos in hopes that it will lift the veil of the unknown associated with infertility treatment, and also serve as a reminder to women to be their own advocate. “I hope that it will ‘pay it forward’ to other women going through this and help them realize that they aren’t alone either.”

Read Allyn’s First Blog about Her Decision to Undergo IVF:

I talk about a lot of things on my blog, and they really run the gamut: living in a foreign country, breast health, pageants, the Electoral College – you name it! But what I never thought I’d be talking about was undergoing IVF treatment. But here we are! And I’m excited to give you a behind the scenes look at what this process is really like because there’s a lot of confusion out there.

So, let’s dive right in…IVF IS SCARY. 

Okay, it’s actually not that scary, but the initial thoughts, research and anxiety going into a procedure like this can be a little daunting. Unlike the traditional IVF patient, my husband and I were not utilizing IVF due to fertility problems, but instead because I carry a rare recessive genetic disease called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS). If you’re wondering what the heck is that? You’re not alone. It’s a randomly occurring mutation that presents in 1 in every 250,000 male births! So, you likely have never heard of it.

Unfortunately for my family, WAS has been a sad legacy. I lost 3 of my uncles (all before they turned 18) to WAS related diseases. WAS is carried on the X-chromosome and if you remember high school biology, that means that 50% of males (XY) will be affected and 50% of females (XX) will be “carriers” (i.e. we can pass the disease on to our children but we are not affected). I’m one of those unlucky carriers. That means that I have a 50/50 chance of passing this disease/carrier status on to my male children and my female children. That’s some pretty heavy stuff.

It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders when I learned that through IVF with Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing (PGT), you can test and identify the unaffected embryos before you transfer them! You heard that right – you can ensure that you are only transferring the healthy 50% and wait for it… you can completely eliminate the disease from your family tree!
Meaning this mutation ENDS WITH ME. I would be giving my future sons the gift of being WAS free and my daughters the gift of not worrying if they might pass it on to their children. I was sold. The next step – finding an IVF practice that specializes in this miracle work! Enter Stage Left: Shady Grove Fertility.

This was really a no brainer for me. I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and had heard commercials for SGF for years. I knew that they were the leading fertility practice in the country, I heard their growing statistics of couples bringing home their miracle babies and the soothing, calm voice-actor had me sold from day one. But what I didn’t know was that Shady Grove Fertility was the real deal. They are one of the world leaders in IVF and more importantly – they specialize in PGT which was the most important thing in trying to have a healthy baby.

As I did my research, I learned that PGT is able to help eliminate several potential risk factors like chromosomal abnormalities and works for numerous other genetic conditions like BRCA 1 and 2 (the breast cancer gene mutations). So not only was I excited that this would be something that could help Christopher and I on our way to having a baby, I couldn’t wait to share with the breast cancer community that this was a way to eliminate what feels like a life sentence for so many women like me with a family history of breast cancer.

But what really sealed the deal for me with SGF was the flexibility. The biggest hurdle for me in picking a practice was the fact that my job takes me all over the country. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to “stay in one place” (quite literally) for the length of my cycle. Shady Grove Fertility came to the rescue again – they have 38 office locations across the U.S. so I had the flexibility of being seen at another office and I ended up having to! (More on that later). The next question was – how do I choose the right doctor?

Well, this one kind of fell in my lap. I found out that one of my oldest childhood friends, Amanda, was working at SGF! I reached out to her (promising that I wasn’t messaging her on Facebook to sign her up for an MLM) and asked for her recommendation on her favorite doctor at Shady Grove Fertility. She was adamant that I needed to work with Dr. Kate Devine. If she was as good as her name sounded, we were set. Well, there’s no other way to say it, but she blew my mind. I felt unbelievably at ease and confident going into the initial procedure and I owe that in large part to knowing that I was in Dr. Devine’s… divine hands (had to use that at least once).

The only thing left was to get started.

Continue following Allyn’s IVF journey on Shady Grove Fertility’s Instagram, YouTube Channel and Enewsletter!

The month of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, serves as an important reminder that this year, an estimated 700,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer, of which, up to 10 percent of cases are linked to an inherited gene mutation. With advancements in fertility treatment and genetic testing, couples are now able to reduce the risk of passing along known genetic mutations to their children.

Shady Grove Fertility now offers patients the option to screen for over 280 recessive gene mutations, including diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and spinal muscular atrophy. In addition, patients at risk for dominant gene mutations, such as breast cancer or inherited forms of colon cancer, can have individualized testing for these diseases. These tests can identify possible genetic diseases that may be passed on to their child(ren). If a genetic disease is found, the couple has the option to use IVF with preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic/single gene defects (PGT-M) to reduce the risk of passing that mutation onto their child(ren), thereby reducing their risk of disease in the future.

As part of its efforts to educate patients about the value of these interventions, and the availability of fertility preservation prior to any cancer treatment, SGF forged a new partnership with Allyn Rose, a breast cancer previvor, well known women’s health advocate, former Miss USA and Miss America contestant, and full-time model.

“I lost my precious mom, Judy Rose, to breast cancer when I was 16. One of the most challenging things about growing up without a mom is thinking that you’re going to have to face life’s special experiences alone. It’s especially true for a woman,” said Rose. “I understand the difficulties of having to become your own mentor, and I’m passionate about encouraging others to not allow trials in their lives to become negative defining moments, rather, use their adversity as inspiration.”

In addition to losing her mother during her teenage years, Rose also lost her grandmother and great aunt to breast cancer and knew she would want to take any measures to prevent herself and any children from suffering from the disease. As a 24 year old Miss America contestant, Rose made headlines when she made the difficult decision to undergo a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. In 2018, Rose was selected as a Sports Illustrated Swing Search Finalist and became the first woman with a mastectomy to model for Sports Illustrated.

What Rose also knew was that her own experience gave her the motivation and platform to create a movement that encouraged other women to seek preventive healthcare. She created the #SelfExamGram social media movement, which spreads the message of early breast cancer detection and reminds women to perform monthly self breast exams.

Rose is now in the early stages of her IVF journey with Kate Devine, M.D. at SGF’s Washington, D.C. location, opting to undergo PGT-M to reduce the risk of having a child with an inherited condition.

“In the beginning, I was overwhelmed thinking about the entire process. But the team at Shady Grove Fertility, in their best Mom Voice, told me that ‘it was going to be okay’ and that I wasn’t alone.”

“This is an amazing experience to be able to help Allyn and her husband have children. For women like Allyn, genetic testing is a safe and reliable means of reducing the possibility of having children with the genetic mutation a parent or parents may carry. At SGF, we test each embryo for the specific gene mutation and the patient may opt to use the embryos that test negative,” explains Dr. Devine.

Rose is documenting her journey to motherhood with Dr. Devine and SGF in hope that it will lift the veil of the unknown associated with infertility treatment, and also serve as a reminder to women to be their own advocate. “I hope that it will ‘pay it forward’ to other women going through this and help them realize that they aren’t alone either.”

While Rose is cancer-free, SGF has a specially trained team that works specifically with people with cancer to ensure the fertility preservation process before cancer treatment can be expedited in order that cancer treatment can quickly begin. The oncofertility team at SGF helps to guide patients through each step of the treatment process, from finding ways to afford treatment to the actual medical procedure.

If you would like to learn more about SGF’s oncofertility treatment options or to schedule an appointment, please call the New Patient Center at 888-971-7755 or complete this brief online form.