World Cancer Day know your fertility options!

Sunday, February 4, 2018

February 4th is marked as the World’s Cancer Day and Cancer treatment highly affect a couple’s dream of parenthood. Your specialist might speak about the cancer treatment which may increase the risk of, or cause, infertility but not all doctors raise this point and therefore it is very important to initiate this conversation so that you can save or protect your fertility before and maybe even during treatment. However, after treatment, options are often more limited.

Things to consider while undergoing Chemotherapy:

• Regardless of whether a woman’s period flow goes back to normal when her cancer treatment is completed, her fertility still remains unverified. Usually few eggs are wrecked by tumor treatment. Consult your fertility specialist to figure out if you are fertile or how long your fertility window can last
• The quantity of eggs highly depends on a woman’s age, the younger you are, more eggs you have in your ovaries and hence the chances of fertility increases in spite of damage from treatments. Women who are treated for cancer before they are 35 have the most obvious opportunity concerning getting pregnant after treatment
• In some cases, after Chemo, fertility may not last for long as the ovaries stop making the hormones needed for fertility: estrogen and progesterone
• It is always advised not to plan for a baby soon after your chemotherapy as during the treatment the eggs, which were maturing, would have been damaged due to medication. If a damaged egg is fertilized, the embryo could prematurely deliver or develop into a baby with hereditary issues. However, it is always recommended to speak to your doctor before trying to get pregnant.
• In men, the higher doses of Chemo take longer for sperm production to get back to normal. Some sperm production generally returns in 1-4 yrs. and might stretch up to 10 years.

Preserving Fertility is an effective way for individuals who are going to start their cancer treatment. Individuals may want to consider Egg or Sperm Freezing if they are considering delaying parenthood if they are undergoing medical treatment and want to protect their fertility from any negative side effects of medication.

What is Egg Freezing?

The quality of a woman’s eggs, her ovarian reserve, diminishes with age while the reproductive organs maintain their ability to carry a pregnancy. The decrease in quality is relatively gradual until the age of 35, after which the rate increases. When egg quality decreases, the chance of pregnancy decreases and the risk of miscarriage and genetic abnormality increases. Egg freezing offers you flexibility in delaying pregnancy for later in life and allows you to take control of your own biological clock.

Things cancer patients need to consider before Egg Freezing:

Preferably, egg freezing for cancer patients is performed before chemotherapy, radiation treatment or fertility affecting surgeries. In any case, it is imperative to remember that it can take between two to a month and a half to recover eggs for freezing. Some cancer patients may not be able to stand to postpone treatment.

Furthermore, if the growth is estrogen-subordinate, fertility medications should be carefully assessed, with the goal that circulating estrogen does not feed cancer and cause it to grow.

Steps involved in Egg Freezing:

Ovarian Stimulation (7 To 10 Days): On Day 2 of the Menstrual Cycle, fertility medications are prescribed to stimulate the growth of multiple follicles in the ovaries. Ultrasound scans and blood tests are used to monitor follicular growth and hormone levels. 36 to 40 hours before the schedule Egg Retrieval, an hCG “trigger” shot is given to induce maturation of the eggs within a scheduled timeframe.

Egg Retrieval (OPU): Eggs are retrieved using a thin ultrasound-guided needle during a minor procedure under sedation and are then frozen for later use.

Future IVF Cycle: When you are ready for pregnancy, your eggs are thawed and fertilized using ICSI.

What is Sperm Freezing?

Sperm freezing is an effective way for men to store sperm for future use, particularly if they want to preserve their fertility while receiving any treatment that may damage sperm quality. Men may store their sperm from natural ejaculate, TESA or MicroTESE, even if they have reduced sperm parameters.

Numerous kinds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment including the testicles as well as pelvic areas can result in sperm DNA Damage. This DNA damage can possibly cause failures to prepare the egg or pregnancies, which can result to miscarriage. If a child is conceived using sperm with damaged DNA, the sperm hereditary abnormalities can be acquired inherited by the child. These DNA changes can be life-threatening for a child.

Steps Involved In Sperm Freezing?

• Semen Collection
• Semen Analysis
• Sperm Freezing
• Using for future IVF or IUI Cycle

To know more please visit https://fakihivf.com/treatment/preserving-fertility/