CLEVELAND — Matt Hiznay said he loves being a dad, but it was the furthest thing from his mind 12 years ago when doctors asked if he wanted to preserve his fertility before undergoing cancer treatment.


What You Need To Know

  • Matt Hiznay was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 24

  • He and his wife welcomed a baby 12 years after his diagnosis thanks to fertility preservation

  • He will remain on medications for the rest of his life, but is able to lead a normal life

He recalls having blurted out no.

But his mom was with him at this particular appointment and got him to reconsider.

“Likely thinking, ‘I want grandkids someday. You’re going to survive this…you should reconsider,’” Hiznay recalled his mom saying.

Hiznay was 24 at the time and had just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

“I never really felt sick, just had this nasty cough that whole summer of 2011. Couldn’t get rid of it,” he said.

Hiznay had metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, most commonly seen in people between the ages of 50 and 80 and prior tobacco smokers. Hiznay was a non-smoker.

His cancer was very aggressive, and doctors wanted to start chemotherapy immediately. He was seen on Aug. 24 and they wanted to start chemotherapy on Sept. 1. Hiznay had one week to collect a specimen.

It’s not uncommon for women of childbearing age who are diagnosed with cancer to be asked if they want to preserve their fertility, but Hiznay’s doctor, Nathan Pennell, said it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind with Hiznay.

“I admit, I do have to work at this because most people I treat are much older and well past age of wanting to have children,” said Pennell, oncologist at Cleveland Clinic.

Despite the aggressive nature of Hiznay‘s cancer, there were some things working in his favor. A treatment that was developed for his type of cancer was approved by the FDA the same month he was diagnosed.

“If we had not been able to get this drug for him, and get it to him in the hospital, who knows what would have happened at that time,” Pennell said.

The treatment worked so well that Hiznay was able to leave the hospital within days. He will remain on cancer medication, presumably for the rest of life. Despite the challenges of the last 12 years, Hiznay said he is grateful for what life has brought him, a seven-month-old baby girl.

“It’s nice to have something that feels normal and just the wonder of each new day. Being able to pass on things I’ve learned,” Hiznay said.

“I have a very different perspective on many things. Had I not gotten sick, I view that as a silver lining. I’ll be able to teach some of those lessons to Thea when she grows older,” he said.

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