Jenna Benn Shersher

Follow Jenna and her incredible work @tinytwister1 and @twistoutcancer.

Five sentences about me…

I was born and raised in Chicagoland and for nearly a decade, I worked at the Anti-Defamation League where I worked to combat antisemitism and hate. Prior to my work at the ADL, I lived in Montreal where I studied at McGill University, and then went on to complete my Masters in Social Enterprise and Administration at Columbia University in New York. At the age of 29, I was diagnosed with Grey Zone Lymphoma, an aggressive and rare blood disorder that at the time impacted less than 300 people worldwide. After a year of hospitalizations and intensive chemotherapy, I was deemed cancer-free. I have been in remission for 10 years.

Five sentences about what I've endured in the fertility realm...

Preserving my fertility in many ways saved my life. Initially, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma based on my age and tumor presentation. I decided to undergo fertility preservation because I was told that the chemotherapy regimen would be toxic to my ovaries. During the month that I underwent preservation and banking, tests revealed that I had been misdiagnosed and that I would have to undergo more intensive chemotherapy. Preserving my eggs, essentially bought me time, and allowed for my medical team to make a more accurate diagnosis which ultimately saved my life. Fertility preservation also changed the way that I thought about my fight. I was not only fighting for my own life but for the lives of my future children.

One thing I wish I knew going into my fertility journey...

I wish I had known that tests are not always accurate. I was told a year after treatment that I was still in menopause. I was told that the likelihood of getting pregnant on my own was slim. Right before I was about to start fertility treatment 4 years post-cancer treatment, I ended up getting pregnant. Had I listened to the statistics, I would have been paralyzed by fear. I chose to write my own story and hold on to hope.

One thing about me that is forever changed because of my fertility journey...

I look at my two children- Noa and Lilou (lee-lou) and I am in awe of them. I see them as complete miracles and I cherish them in a way that I do not believe I would have had access to had I not gone through this journey.

One funny moment or anecdote from my fertility journey...

Oh, there are too many...not sure they are safe for the interwebs!

One product, practice, or ritual I adopted during my fertility journey, which I have/have not kept a part of my life...

Acupuncture really was a game-changer for me. Finding someone that specializes in fertility really helped!