Many young women who survive cancer don’t understand how tumor treatments affect their reproductive health even though the therapy can trigger infertility, a survey suggests. Researchers focused on 346 women who were around 30 years old on average and had typically finished cancer treatment about five years earlier. At the time participants completed the survey, 106 women said they had been told they would not be able to become pregnant or carry a baby to term as a result of their cancer treatment, and 21 women said they had taken steps to preserve fertility before treatment such as egg or embryo freezing.
Tag: cancer
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Freezing Egg Costs And Complications
Who are the women sitting in the waiting room with faraway eyes and brochures about egg freezing in their hands?It’s easiest to categorize them into two strikingly different groups. One group is made up of women who face illnesses that impact fertility, including endometriosis and cancer. On the advice of their doctors and supported by families and sometimes a husband, they’re making this choice to ensure that one day, following surgery or chemo, they still have the chance to mother their own biological children. The other group includes women who hurriedly speak about jobs with late hours and business trips and little time to meet guys. Even though it seems impossible within their current, busy lives, these women hold on to the hope that some far off day in the future they will have the option to have their own children should they wish to do so.
The Quest for a Family
For those who want children and can’t have them on their own, time is the enemy. But so is cancer. And money. And war. For those who fear an imperfect genetic history, it seems they must forge the steeliest of nerves in order to be successful. So many things can go wrong in the quest for a family, despite the high-tech world of fertility treatments and genetic counseling that hold promise for those who have been disappointed by old-fashioned measures.
Childhood Chemo: How Does it Affect Fertility Later in Life?
Childhood cancer survivors have long been concerned about their future ability to reproduce. New research published in The Lancet Oncology puts some of these worries to bed but at the same time confirms others.
Do Fertility Drugs Cause Cancer
Fear is a common feeling for anyone looking into fertility treatment. People are scared about having a healthy baby, the possibility of multiples, and the risk of developing cancer from fertility treatments.
Human Stem Cell With Half a Genome Could Help Infertile Couples
Sometimes less is more. Scientists have created a new kind of human stem cell that has just half a genome. The cells can be turned into any tissue in the human body, despite only containing one set of chromosomes. The discovery will provide a vital tool for developing therapies to treat a range of conditions, including cancer and infertility, and may even shed light on why we reproduce sexually via two parents rather than one.
Cancer Fertility: Couples Dealing With High Costs
When a doctor told young mom Jessica Drexler that she had colon cancer, the first question she asked was about whether she could have more kids after her treatment. Jessica, 28, of Chili, knew that chemo and radiation therapies can make it difficult or even impossible to get pregnant.
Fertility Issues for Cancer Patients Can Also Bring Legal Headaches
Reproductive technology has made it easier for cancer survivors to start families despite being infertile after treatment, but some patients may still find their future parenthood plans dashed by legal complications, says a group of U.S. doctors and lawyers.
Make Surrogacy Legal in New York
If you live in New York and were born without a uterus, or you may have a medical condition that makes pregnancy life-threatening, or your cancer has rendered you sterile, or you are a man with a male partner or your medical condition causes miscarriage after miscarriage, you are out of luck. New York is about the worst place for you to be. Your only hope is to build your family, at far greater expense and emotional burden, with the help of carrier in surrogacy-friendly state live Connecticut, Massachusetts, or even Georgia or Texas.
Fertility Consult in Cancer Care: Now a Routine Referral
Fertility care for young patients newly diagnosed with cancer should be incorporated into routine clinical practice, experts say.