Meet Hannah

December of 2024 I was newly engaged, wrapping up my first semester of graduate school at the University of Georgia, and only 21 years old when I found out I had stage 3 melanoma. Nobody ever expects to get cancer, but I was truly in disbelief and denial. There are hardly words for the feeling and things that begin racing through your mind. 

There were only days until Christmas and I was so afraid I would have to sit with this until after the new year due to the holidays. Coordinating doctors, treatments, and procedures seemed like such an overwhelming task. I was fortunately able to get in with my oncologist and found out I would need immunotherapy for 12 months. I immediately saw there was risk of infertility through the treatments and was devastated. Even if you decide to undergo fertility preservation treatments, when you have cancer there are two huge factors that influence your decision: time and cost. When a doctor develops your treatment plan it usually comes with a timeframe of when you need to start and for me that was 6 weeks. Emory in Atlanta, Georgia brought me in on Christmas Eve to discuss my options. At the time, I was convinced this was beyond my realm of possibility anyway due to the cost. During this consultation, I was so shocked to find out the cost share programs for oncology patients seeking fertility treatments, Team Maggie's Dream being one of them. 

I feel so fortunate to have received a grant from Team Maggie's Dream. I was blessed to have a successful egg retrieval procedure and begin my treatment less than one week later. If you have also found yourself in this situation I hope you take comfort in my story and reading the stories of others on this page. I never would have imagined all the resources available and people willing to help throughout this entire process. The best advice I could give anyone would be to place your faith in God and to seek and accept help along the way.