Chemotherapy and Fertility

Young women diagnosed with breast cancer have many more issues facing them than just getting through their cancer experience and minimizing their chance of a recurrence. Often the treatment choices they are presented with have tradeoffs involving the likelihood that they will ever be able to have and/or add to their families.

A recent study at Dana Farber Cancer Institute compared the “ovarian reserve” of pre-menopausal breast cancer patients who’d had chemotherapy treatments to women with no history of breast cancer. The results were pretty grim. Women who had been treated with adjuvant chemotherapy fared worse on four out of the five tests used to measure the likelihood that women who had undergone treatment would be able to have a family after treatment had concluded.

As more and more young women are diagnosed with breast cancer, this issue – rightfully – is getting more attention. Organizations like Thrive and the cohort study at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute that tracks young women with breast cancer are helping not only to focus attention on these issues, but to develop treatment approaches that address some of these longer term issues. There are many creative approaches now being employed as a result of just being aware of the ramifications of treatment. These include freezing eggs or embryos prior to the start of treatment.

Even with so many stories of fertility being compromised in the face of cancer treatments, there are some happy endings. Sarah, whose video is on our site, was in her 30’s when she was diagnosed almost 10 years ago. Her initial focus, quite naturally, was on getting rid of her cancer. Soon after her treatment was completed, her thoughts turned to starting a family. She was cautiously optimistic but her hopes grew dimmer as each year went by without any success. Then, one day, without any explanation or direct medical intervention, she found that she was pregnant and is now the proud mother of two lovely children. Sometimes medical science can explain only so much – where there is hope, there really can be life.

What do you think?