After Cervical Cancer & Fertility Struggles, Sportscaster Erin Andrews Enjoys Sweet Family Moment At Disney: ‘Memories Cherished For a Lifetime’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erin Andrews (@erinandrews)

Another photo, featured in the post, showed the adorable trio standing in Magic Kingdom in Disneyland Park in California.

Andrews also shared an image of her son holding her fingers as he is pushed around in his stroller during their Disney getaway.

Disneyland’s official Instagram account replied with a comment, “So glad Mack had a magical first visit!”

One fan even commented, “That last pic really touches my ‘mom feelers’…”

In a followup post from their magical trip, Andrews shared a photo of Mack meeting Mickey Mouse, revealing both her son and the iconic Disney character smiling at each other.

She captioned the post, “All I wanted. Thanks @disneyparks @disneyland @disneyeats @goofyskitchenrestaurant #disneyland #disney.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erin Andrews (@erinandrews)

Her fans, again, praised her post with kind words, with one writing, “And we all wanted it for you. Precious boy.”

Others wrote, “Soak up every precious minute – it’s the best” and “This is pure love and happiness!”

This Disney trip means a lot to Andrews and her husband following their exhaustive fertility journey.

Andrews, who began dating Stoll in 2012 and later married him in 2016, previously opened up about her years-long IVF journey on Bulletin, in an essay titled “My seventh time doing IVF, I am not keeping it a secret anymore.”

In her informative essay, she bravely outlined the struggles she has faced with fertility, as she and her husband, who at the time were trying to conceive.

She explained she was trying to enjoy some downtime before NFL season kicks off, but it “has been challenging for me.” Andrews admitted she had been working long hours, and she also had to schedule IVF treatment.

“For those familiar, you know it’s a time-consuming and emotionally draining process. This is my 7th one, and I’ve been going through these treatments since I was 35 years old,” she continued.

The then-43-year-old, said her body was “stacked against” her, adding, “I have been trying to do IVF treatment for a while now, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it. Your body just doesn’t allow it.

“Every cycle is different in a woman’s body, so some months are better than others.” Andrews said that the scheduling difficulties made her question what’s most important, leaving her feeling as if she needed to choose between family and a career.

Thankfully, she ultimately spoke with her producers and told them that she’d be late to work, due to daily fertility appointments, something she’s “thankful” she did. “They encouraged me to be open about it because this is real life. It’s not like I’m leaving to go take a hot yoga class, I’m trying to have a baby. I am not ashamed, and I want to be vocal and honest about this.”

Prior to that, Andrews also opened up to Health in 2017 about how she previously had undergone IVF prior to her diagnosis.

“I had actually frozen my eggs before all this a couple of years back, just because it was all the rage. But it definitely took a serious turn for us. I’m not young, we don’t know when we’re gonna have a baby, we don’t know if this is going to come back,” Andrews said.

“One thing I love my future husband for is that our oncologist said the smart thing to do would be to have some insurance waitingso we have frozen embryos because we’ve taken the steps. If we need ’em, we need ’em; and if we don’t, we don’t. We just wanna be smart. But it’s crazy, because these waiting rooms are packed!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erin Andrews (@erinandrews)

Erin Andrews’ Cervical Cancer Battle

Erin Andrews was 38 when doctors detected cervical cancer during a routine pap screening in 2016. Since her diagnosis, she’s been a vocal advocate for women to stay current on their cancer screenings.

To treat her cancer, Andrews underwent two surgeries. Prior to surgery, she had In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to preserve her fertility.

Cervical cancer is detected via a pap smear test, which looks for early signs of cervical cancer. Nurse Practitioner Barbara Dehn told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “Many women think that a Pap smear checks for ovarian cancer, but it doesn’t. Pap smears detect only cervical cancer, not all gynecologic cancers.

“In fact, there is no test that detects ovarian cancer in its earliest stages, which is why two-thirds to three-quarters of women are diagnosed at a later stage, when the disease has spread to nearby tissues and organs.”

Every year in the U.S., approximately 11,500 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Getting pap smears to detect for cervical cancer is critically important because an earlier diagnosis may mean a better prognosis and broader treatment options.

All About Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer begins in the cells lining the cervix, the lower part of the womb (uterus). Treatment options for cervical cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

It’s important to note that HPV (human papillomavirus), a sexually-transmitted virus, causes more than 70% of cervical cancer cases.

Additionally, other risk factors like smoking can make you about twice as likely to get cervical cancer as those who don’t smoke.

Cervical cancer screening is critically important because an earlier diagnosis can mean a better prognosis with broader treatment options.

The American Cancer Society recommends that cervical cancer screening begins at age 25, and people aged 25 to 65 should have a primary HPV test, an HPV test done by itself for screening, every 5 years. If primary HPV testing is not available, however, screening may be done with either a co-test that combines an HPV test with a Papanicolaou (Pap) test every 5 years or a Pap test alone every 3 years.

The most common symptoms of cervical cancer can include:

• Abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as bleeding after vaginal sex, bleeding after menopause, after douching, bleeding and spotting in between periods or having heavier or longer (menstrual) periods than usual.
• Unusual discharge from the vagina that may contain some blood and may occur between your periods or after menopause.
• Pain during sex.
• Pain in the pelvic region.

RELATED: Motherhood After Cancer Treatment – Yes, It’s Possible: Here’s What You Should Know About Fertility Preservation

Milestones After Health Challenges

For cancer survivors and their families, reaching life’s milestones is a big deal.

Milestones can be the birth of a child or grandchild, adopting a child, getting married, traveling on a dream vacation, or reaching another birthday. Most importantly, these milestones during or after cancer tend to have a more significant meaning since many cancer patients will gain a greater sense of gratitude from all they’ve endured.

WATCH: One cancer survivor’s incredible story detailing the value of milestones.

Aside from celebrating milestones, standard day-to-day activities can also feel more special, such as planning a nice dinner or spending time working with a cancer charity.

The way you memorialize your cancer milestone could also be independent of others in the form of simple reflection or a walk in nature.

We love how Erin Andrews is savoring every moment with her son and embracing gratitude after hardship.

Survivorship, overall, can enhance the time you spend doing all of the above.

Fertility, Surrogacy and Gestational Carriers

Dr. Jaime Knopman previously told SurvivorNet that time was precious when dealing with fertility preservation for women with cancer.  Basically, the sooner the better when it comes to having these important fertility conversations with your doctor.

It’s important to understand that many women may have difficulty giving birth to a child or they may be unable to at all. Having someone else carry their baby may be an option, either through surrogacy, like Erin Andrews used, or a gestational carrier.

According to the National Cancer Institute, a surrogate pregnancy is “a type of pregnancy in which a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for a person who is not able to have children.”

“In a surrogate pregnancy, eggs from the woman who will carry the baby or from an egg donor are fertilized with sperm from a sperm donor to make an embryo,” the institute explains.

“The embryo is implanted in the uterus of the surrogate mother, who carries the baby until birth. Surrogate pregnancy may be an option for men or women who want to have children and have had certain anticancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, that can cause infertility.”

As for a gestational carrier, the institute describes this person as a “woman who carries and gives birth to a baby for a person who is not able to have children.”

“Eggs from an egg donor are fertilized in the laboratory with sperm from a sperm donor to make an embryo,” the institute explains. “The embryo is implanted in the uterus of the gestational surrogate, who carries the baby until birth. The gestational surrogate (or carrier) is not genetically related to the baby and is not the biological mother.”

If you or someone you know is deciding on whether or not to go the route of surrogacy or gestational carrier, it’s important to know that each state has different laws and it may be necessary to speak with an attorney before moving forward.

Dr. Terri Woodard Discusses Options For Preserving Fertility After Cancer

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.