Editorial's
Note
Fertility
After Cancer Treatment
By Dr Julianah Abu, Associate Consultant
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, SGH
The initial reaction to the shocking diagnosis of cancer is urgency
and concern that the life threatening disease is dealt with immediately
and completely. This may make one ill prepared to consider the potentially
devastating effect of cancer treatment which may cause subfertility.
Hence, preserving fertility is the last thing on one’s mind.
Chemotherapy
and radiotherapy can lead to significant damage to the sperm-producing
testes in men and egg-bearing ovaries in women. It is therefore
imperative that a cancer patient who has yet to start or finish
building a family thinks carefully about preserving his fertility
before proceeding with treatment
In men, treatment
with cancer drugs usually leads to a reduced number of sperms and
occasionally no sperm may be recovered subsequently. Sperm banking
whereby sperm is collected, frozen and stored is a proven method
of preserving fertility. The stored sperm can be used later when
the patient has recovered from his illness and is ready to start
his family.
Unfortunately
in women, there is not yet a reliable method to preserve fertility
after cancer treatment. In younger women, the choice of chemotherapy
drugs and the transposition of the ovaries to allow better shielding
during radiotherapy may reduce the severity of ovarian damage. Banking
of oocytes or eggs and ovarian tissue is undergoing intense research
and will hopefully be available soon. In married women, in-vitro
fertilization or IVF and freezing of the embryos developed, is a
good alternative that need careful consideration of both oncologist
and reproductive specialist as the process takes time and delays
cancer treatment.
Consult your
oncologist about preserving your fertility before you undergo cancer
treatment.
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