Cancer treatments save thousands of Canadian lives every year, but they can also cause severe problems with fertility. If you plan to undergo cancer treatment, it's important to know what cancer treatments can cause infertility and what you can do about it. Here is the information you need to know about protecting your reproductive health when faced with cancer.
There are a number of cancer treatments that come with fertility risks, including surgery, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. Here is what you need to know about each one:
Thankfully, there are a number of methods to help increase your chances of conceiving a child if you're facing cancer treatment.
Both men and women have options to safeguard reproductive health before undergoing cancer treatment. For women, it is possible to freeze your eggs, embryos and ovarian tissue. Doctors can also implant a shield in your ovaries to help protect against radiation rays and potentially keep your reproductive health intact. Doctors can also utilise ovarian transposition surgery to change the position of your ovaries to keep them out of range of radiation treatments.
Options for men include freezing of their sperm and testicular tissue, as well as using a radiation shield to protect the testicles.
It is also sometimes possible that the cancer treatment you receive actually has no impact on your fertility. Doctors can measure your hormone levels, perform tests on sperm, and observe ovarian activity to better inform you about your chances of having a child.
Once your cancer treatment is completed, you can use methods such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) to help conceive a child.
Most of these methods have been used to produce thousands of live births and have a strong track record, but others are more experimental such as ovarian transposition, which is thought to preserve fertility in 50 percent of cases.
At the same time, many people opt to use donor sperm, eggs and embryos if they are facing severe problems following cancer treatment. Many others choose to adopt.
The decision is up to you, but it's a good idea to receive counselling and psychological support no matter what process you choose, as it will help you deal with reproductive problems during a difficult time.
Ultimately, it's good to know there are so many fertility options for those undergoing cancer. New advances should also help streamline existing treatments and offer even more fertility choices in the future, helping improve the odds of giving you the family you want.
