Women With Cancer: Preserving Fertility
Today women with cancer have so many options. Advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment are helping women everyone live longer, happier and healthier lives. One of these amazing breakthroughs includes options for motherhood which, in years past, wasn’t even a consideration.
Why choose to freeze
Women choose to freeze their eggs for a variety of reasons. There are some medical treatments (radiation or chemotherapy) that can harm a woman’s fertility. Chemo to the pelvic area could mean menopause starting 5-20 years sooner than expected. Freezing eggs could help a woman have a biological child in the future.
Oocyte cryopreservation
Oocyte or egg freezing is a proven method of preserving fertility in women. Mature eggs are removed and frozen before being fertilized with sperm. This is called egg banking. Egg banking helps women with premature fertility loss by banking eggs to be used a later date. The frozen eggs can be thawed, fertilized and implanted for pregnancy after cancer has been abolished and a woman is ready for motherhood.
Considerations to egg freezing
There are many things to consider before going down the path of oocyte cryopreservation. First and foremost would be talking to the oncologist about the risks of infertility and the safety of undergoing egg freezing. Other considerations are the hormones needed to stimulate ovaries, the success rate of having a baby after cancer treatment, the importance of a biological child, support of friends and family, financial resources and religious or ethical beliefs.
Upside to egg freezing
A cancer diagnosis is devastating news, but it no longer has to mean an end to dreams of starting or growing a family. Egg freezing is one of the most highly recommended fertility preservation options for cancer patients. Option for egg freezing prior to cancer treatment is a way of stopping the biological clock and makes for one less stressor so patients are able to focus more on recovery than the possibilities of motherhood.
