Cancer survivor and firefighter husband search for Canadian surrogate
A Metro Vancouver couple dealing with infertility after a cancer battle is looking for a surrogate to make their dream of becoming parents a reality.
Catherine Perka and her husband Dan went public with their search earlier this month after several rounds of unsuccessful embryo transfers.
“My oncologist basically told me don’t ever expect to get pregnant,” Perka told Daily Hive. “It was really hard.”
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Perka learned she had late-stage colorectal cancer in 2019. She was 11 weeks pregnant when she received the diagnosis. She had to start treatment right away to survive, and there was no way the pregnancy could make it to term.
“You’re in shock and you don’t really have a chance to absorb everything that’s happening. I was just at the mercy of what doctors telling me what to do,” she said. “All I remember was a blur. You’re already starting to grieve the idea that you had.”
Catherine Perka and her husband, Dan, have been together since 2010 and got married in 2018. Perka said their life was similar to that of any young couple until she was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer in 2019. (Catherine Perka/Submitted)
Amid the shock and emotional turmoil of losing a pregnancy and starting cancer treatment, Perka’s mother encouraged her to freeze some of her eggs — which she did.
The radiation made her body enter early menopause, impacting her ability to carry a pregnancy.
“I don’t have the hormones anymore that a woman my age would. So I’m on hormone replacement therapy.”
Perka is in her fourth year of no evidence of disease cancer-wise, and her status will move to in remission once she reaches five years.
At the encouragement of their fertility clinic, the couple tried an embryo transfer. The initial attempt took until Perka lost the pregnancy at 24 weeks. After several more unsuccessful rounds, the most recent of which happened in December 2023, the couple decided it was time to look for a surrogate.
Perka shared her cancer journey online and was inspired by the power of social media to try again this time. She’s been overwhelmed by the response her surrogacy post has received since going public on February 17.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” she said. “People are reaching out and just relating to me with, you know, their infertility struggles. Or they’ve been diagnosed with cancer as well and they want to connect on that level.”
The couple wants to find a surrogate based in Canada, and they’re prepared to reimburse them for all expenses incurred. Their fertility clinic only asks that the potential candidate already have had one uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery (via C-section is fine), be a non-smoker under age 41, and have a body mass index under 35.
Anyone interested in helping the couple is encouraged to reach out via social media. Perka can be found on Instagram @cat_perka or on Facebook.
“There’s just no words for how grateful I am that people like that do exist. Who want to help another family get something they can’t have,” Perka said. “And it usually is a mom who loves her children so much they want another woman to experience that. It’s quite special.”