Offering new hope for fertility after serious illness
For women facing cancer or a serious blood disease, chemotherapy and radiation treatments represent both hope for a cure and the fear of infertility. These aggressive, potentially life-saving therapies may damage a woman’s ovaries and the oocytes (eggs) they contain, depriving her of bearing a child after the cancer has been treated.
Today, new technology is available that preserves the ovaries or oocytes before undergoing radiation or chemotherapy, enabling women to get the treatment needed for survival while offering new hope for fertility after cancer.
Baylor Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have joined forces to help cancer patients better understand the impact of radiation and chemotherapy on fertility, so women can make the most informed decisions regarding their treatment while planning for the possibility of childbearing in the future.
Our fertility specialists at Baylor Medicine will counsel patients about the latest fertility treatments and the options available based on their unique situation. We will then collaborate with the patient and their oncologist to determine the best approach for preserving the woman’s fertility while treating her cancer.
We welcome the opportunity to assist all cancer patients, even those who may not be working with an M. D. Anderson physician.
Treatment Options Available
Multiple treatment strategies are currently available to help individuals preserve their fertility before undergoing chemotherapy or radiation. The suitability of each treatment option depends on each individual patient.
- Embryo cryopreservation with IVF
- Oocyte freezing (egg banking)
- Sperm freezing
- Oncofertility services
- Ovarian tissue freezing
- Oocyte (egg) donation
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