At 31 years old, Alice Crisci was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Redondo Beach resident bared it all in a photo shoot with the Daily Breeze back in 2008 before undergoing a double mastectomy.
The photos were a celebration of her body before cancer would change it forever. The newspaper continued to follow her journey, including her decision to ensure that after remission she’d have a chance at realizing her dream of becoming a mother.
“I learned very early on in the process that my fertility would be at risk, that there was a 50/50 chance I’d be left infertile,” says Crisci, now 35. “And that was a chance I wasn’t willing to take.”
So Crisci went through fertility preservation, a process that cost her $20,000 and had to be paid in full that day. Not qualifying for financial assistance, she charged the entire amount on her American Express card.
