Seven Sharp host Toni Street, who has been battling a rare auto-immune disease, has revealed how a decision to have fertility treatment turned her health around.
Toni, who has been on high-dose steroids since she was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome early last year, says she was given the terrible news just before Christmas that the disease was attacking her liver and she would need chemotherapy. Because the chemo could leave her infertile, the mother-of-two, who hopes to have a third child in the future, says she quickly had a round of fertility treatment to freeze healthy eggs before starting the chemo – only to get a surprise result.
“I had prepared myself for the chemo, asked all the questions,” she tells NEXT. “I knew I wasn’t going to lose my hair but I would probably get nauseous. They were about to start me on the chemotherapy and they did one last test. That’s when they said, ‘Actually, your liver is settled so we don’t need to do the chemo’. And since that point I’ve been the best I’ve been since I got diagnosed with this thing. It was very unusual, and they can’t explain it. But we were very lucky.”
The 32-year-old says it’s possible it was the high dose steroids aggravating her liver, and that cutting back on them to have fertility treatment was the reason she got better.
“I’m not in remission – yet,” she says. “But I hope to be by the end of this year.”
For the full interview with Toni pick up the latest issue of NEXT magazine, on sale now.
Words: Rachael Russell
Photography: Yianni Aspradakis
