Woman diagnosed with cancer at 21 forced to self-fund egg-freezing after treatment

A cancer survivor who underwent urgent treatment at 21 is facing an £8,000 bill to preserve her chance of becoming a mum.

Erin Lavery, from Cambuslang, was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged just 21 after having her symptoms dismissed for over a year.

She was advised to begin treatment immediately due to the late diagnosis, but later discovered she had gone through menopause and was told it was too late for egg freezing to be funded by the NHS.

The Scottish Government says patients are assessed on a case-by-case basis and will shortly outline details of a new review of IVF services.

Now 23 and cancer-free, Erin is pushing for change to ensure other young women can still have children after cancer treatment.

“I always wanted to be a mum, so as soon as I could begin those investigations, that’s what I did,” she told STV News.

“I can’t describe the emotions it’s brought up going through this. It’s already isolating being a young person going through cancer, but infertility as well; it doesn’t need to be this difficult.

“If the funding is there before your cancer treatment, it should be there after.”

Erin was diagnosed in August 2024 after a year of escalating symptoms, which doctors attributed to low iron.

The young nail technician had been suffering from a persistent cough, shortness of breath, and extreme fatigue before being sent for tests.

A biopsy revealed she had Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and she was forced to start treatment immediately.

She had gone through six months of chemotherapy and a month of radiotherapy and is now clear of cancer.

Earlier this year, further tests found there was a chance she could preserve her eggs and have a child in the future.

However, because fertility preservation would take place after her cancer treatment rather than before it, she was told it would not be funded by the NHS and would instead need to be self-funded at a cost of around £8,000.

“I’m lucky enough that my family are able to help me fund this, but I can’t stop thinking about people who don’t have that option, or even to find that amount of money.

“It’s so disheartening. I’m now at this stage where I’m recovering and getting myself back, and to be hit with this feels huge.

“It’s taken me a while to get a good bit of myself back and recover from treatment.

“Fighting for funding and trying to change this is exhausting.”

Erin has returned to work as a nail technician STV News

She’s speaking out to raise awareness and criticise what she describes as an “outdated” policy affecting young women like herself.

“A large part of this seems to be an area missed and not looked over. These policies that need a second look.

” If I need to be the one to change that, I’m going to do it.

“It’s upsetting so many cancer survivors find themselves in this situation and are left on their own to navigate it.”

Public health minister Maree Todd said: “Guidance on fertility preservation has been developed by clinical experts and makes clear that special consideration by health boards should be done on a case-by-case basis, to cover the whole range of possible conditions and individual circumstances where fertility preservation might be considered.

“I am sympathetic to the calls from this campaign and am keen to hear more from Erin about her experience. The Scottish Government will shortly outline details of a new review of IVF services, which will look at the experiences of accessing IVF services.

“I greatly admire the strength and resilience shown by Erin as she has documented her cancer journey online and I thank her for the sharing her personal experience and the work she is doing to advocate for more support for cancer survivors.”