After months of brain fog, memory problems, and word-finding issues I’d assumed were related to the stress of grad school, an MRI revealed a tumor in my brain—anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3, to be exact, in the same class as highly terminal glioblastoma. One craniotomy, an ICU stay, and a pathology report later, I found myself staring blankly as a doctor explained that the chemo I needed would likely destroy my chance of getting pregnant someday, should I ever want to do so.