Is It Possible To Have Children After Having Cancer Treatment?:

I was diagnosed with (DCIS) Invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Even though it was discovered early, I was advised to start chemotherapy ASAP because of the nature of its aggressiveness.

Before being referred to fertility, I had an in-depth conversation with the head of Oncology and she advised that the most important thing at this very moment, was to do everything I could to ensure my survival from DCIS. She advised that once I’d beaten this, there would be various options to having a family and not to lose focus on the battle ahead of me.

The fertility experts at Guy’s helped weigh all of my options. I would have preferred to have had some eggs harvested, but this would have taken some time, time I didn’t have.

The DCIS that invaded my right breast was only at stage two on discovery but had already made its way into my lymph nodes, so time wasn’t on my side. Treatment (chemo) needed to start ASAP.

These are the facts of what can happen to your reproductive system after having cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy And Fertility:

Both chemotherapy and hormone therapy can impact fertility and shorten the window of time to have children.

Having a child after breast cancer treatment does not appear to lower a woman’s chances for long-term survival.

Women who become pregnant after completing treatment for breast cancer may be healthier than those who do not.

Your health care provider or a fertility specialist can discuss the best timing of pregnancy for you based on your breast cancer treatment.

With chemotherapy, the loss of periods may be permanent. (Some chemotherapy combinations are less likely to cause permanent menopause than others.)

Women younger than 40 at the time of treatment are more likely than older women to have their periods return after chemotherapy. The risk of permanent menopause increases with age.

Storing Embryos:

Before treatment begins, you can take steps to help preserve your ability to have children depending on what type of cancer you have.

Storing embryos before treatment is an option. In this procedure, eggs are collected over a number of menstrual cycles, fertilised and frozen. After treatment, the embryos can be thawed and implanted into the uterus. (This was an option I would have definitely considered if I’d had the time.)

This procedure has a good rate of success. However, breast cancer treatment may be delayed while eggs are collected and a sperm donor is needed to fertilise the eggs before they are stored.

Unfertilised eggs (which don’t require a sperm donor) can also be frozen and stored. (This was one of my preferred options.)

With modern techniques for freezing unfertilised eggs, pregnancy rates are similar to pregnancy rates using fertilised eggs that have been frozen and stored.

Protecting The Ovaries:

Chemotherapy attacks fast-growing cells. These include not only cancer cells but also healthy cells in other parts of the body, like the ovaries.

Some study findings have shown that there are drugs that may protect the ovaries from damage and lower the chances of early menopause.

Talking With A Fertility Specialist:

If you wish to have a child after treatment, discuss your options with your healthcare provider (and if possible, a fertility specialist) before making treatment decisions.

Meeting with a fertility specialist as early as possible (before surgery) offers the widest range of options.

However if there was no time for any of the options above as treatment may have needed to start asap, these other options may be available to those who still want to be mothers.

Pregnancy via Donor Insemination:

This is a fertility treatment that involves using a sperm donor to conceive. Insemination typically refers to intrauterine insemination (IUI) with a donor or an intended parent’s sperm.

Donor Eggs:

women who are forty or above may want to consider donor eggs to increase their chances of having a baby.

There are donor banks for these and your fertility specialist should be able to give you all the information required.

Adoption:

There are adoption agencies that should be able to offer advice on information and criteria. Every country has its own governing laws protecting the screening process for each applicant.

Adoption can be a good thing as there are so many children all over the world in need of a stable, caring and loving home. You have the opportunity to transform the life of a child and give them a worthy start to a brighter future.