Fertility preservation is a new field of medicine that helps to preserve fertility in patients with cancer or other serious conditions, such as lupus, ovarian cysts, and family history of early menopause. With the latest fertility preservation options, you can move beyond the complications of radiation or chemotherapy and still plan to have a family.
Being diagnosed with cancer can be devastating. However, a cancer diagnosis is even more distressing if you want to get pregnant and fear the treatments may cause infertility. While the cancer itself may not affect fertility, cancer treatments can affect your future ability to get pregnant.
Fertility preservation options
There are many options for fertility preservation for women and they depend on factors such as your age, the type of cancer, and the type of cancer treatments. Because some cancer treatments cause permanent damage to the reproductive tract, doctors can take protective steps before treatment by:
- Shielding your ovaries from the cancer treatments
- Reducing the dose of radiation near your reproductive organs
Store embryos for fertility preservation
Freezing embryos prior to the cancer treatments is another viable option of fertility preservation for women. During IVF, your doctor can retrieve the eggs and fertilize them with sperm to create healthy embryos. Then, the doctor can freeze and store the embryos, which can be used after the cancer treatment or when your cancer is in remission.
For this fertility preservation process to succeed you need sperm from your male partner or you can use donor sperm. For some women, it may take time to prepare and retrieve an egg for fertilization. So another viable fertility preservation option is to freeze just your eggs before cancer treatment, and then thaw them for fertilization and pregnancy later.
Repositioning ovaries to preserve their health
Another option for fertility preservation in women involves a surgical procedure before the cancer treatment begins. Using surgery, your doctor can place your ovaries in a different region of your pelvis, outside of the radiation field. This area of the pelvis will be safe from the harmful effects of radiation, which can help to keep your eggs safe.
Most women recover just fine from this procedure and are able to get pregnant. Still, you may need assistance from a fertility specialist when you are ready to conceive.
The future: ovarian tissue cryopreservation
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is an investigational option of fertility preservation for women. The process involves surgically removing the ovarian tissue. The tissue is then frozen and stored. Later, the ovarian tissue is thawed and reattached to the ovaries with hopes that eggs may develop and hatch for conception.
A key benefit of this type of fertility preservation is that it takes less than 45 minutes. Another key benefit is that the tissue may be removed quickly within a day or two, without delaying cancer treatment. This type of fertility preservation for women is best suited for younger women, because hormone medications won’t be necessary for the procedure.
Also, unlike embryo freezing, with fertility preservation, women can wait until they are ready to have children to choose whether to use their partner’s sperm or select a sperm donor.
At this time, no babies have been born from this type of fertility preservation, but doctors are hopeful that it may help more women conceive one day in the near future.
Fertility preservation for women – a growing field
Freezing and thawing eggs and removing and replanting ovarian tissue are just some of the procedures being tested. Scientists are currently investigating more fertility preservation options to help women conceive after cancer treatment
One type of preservation involves suppressing ovulation during cancer treatment. Doctors believe that by suppressing ovulation during treatment, the eggs may avoid being harmed by the negative affects of chemotherapy and radiation. This will allow you to get pregnant after treatment.
Fertility preservation boosts pregnancy rates
With fertility preservation, many women with cancer get pregnant and have babies after the treatment. If you are interested in fertility preservation options, talk to your doctor before you start cancer treatment. Some methods of fertility preservation for women can take weeks or months to complete, so it’s best to start the process as soon as possible.
Sources: Oncofertility Consortium: “How can cancer affect fertility?” “What can my doctor do to protect my fertility?” “Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation.” “What is Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation?” “What if I decide to do nothing to preserve my fertility before undergoing cancer treatment?” “Could I pass cancer on to my future child?” American Society of Reproductive Medicine: “Patient's Fact Sheet: Cancer and Fertility Preservation.”
