Win the fight against cancer and become a happy mum.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many women fear that cancer is a sentence. The motivation to fight the disease may be the desire to have a child. Motherhood after cancer treatment is possible, as long as you think about safeguarding your fertility beforehand. How can this be done?

Young women are very often unaware that they can give birth to a healthy baby after having cancer. Oncologists tend to focus on fighting for their health and life, rather than on securing fertility. Mostly, they are the main source of information for female patients, which is why the topic rarely comes up in the media and public debate. Many women are not aware of the possibilities offered by modern assisted reproductive techniques and fertility preservation methods in oncology patients. Interest in oocyte freezing, which is an effective way of securing fertility, is still too low. This is mainly due to a lack of education. In Poland, women's awareness of the possibility of postponing motherhood is much lower than in Western European countries or the United States. Meanwhile, a woman under the age of 35 who decides to collect and freeze her ova can become pregnant and become a happy mother even after several years. 

When should you be interested in fertility preservation options?

It is important to think about safeguarding fertility for the future even before starting cancer treatment, as it is chemotherapy and radiotherapy that very often cause fertility loss. Your chances of preserving your fertility depend on several factors: your age, your fertility status before treatment and the type of treatment used - the site of irradiation and the dose of both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Their effects can damage or destroy the ova and cause complete inhibition of ovarian function, i.e. premature menopause. It can also lead to problems implanting the embryo in the uterus or delivering a pregnancy. Also, irradiation of the areas of the brain responsible for producing hormones that affect the efficiency of the reproductive system can lead to infertility. Cancer therapy also involves surgical removal of parts of the reproductive organs, such as the ovaries, but today's medicine also has a way of dealing with this.

How to safeguard fertility?

There are several ways to do this. One of the most common methods is to freeze the egg cells. InviMed clinics have been offering egg cell freezing and storage for seven years. Patients who are being treated for breast cancer and lymphomas most often opt for this method. In young women, i.e. those with the time of their best fertility up to the age of 35, these types of cancer occur most frequently. Ovarian tissue or embryos can also be frozen, which, like frozen ova, are later used for the IVF procedure. Frozen biological material can be stored for many years to be used for fertilisation or implantation when the time comes.

It is important to remember that at least six months must have elapsed since the end of cancer therapy in order to start trying for a baby.

To find out more about fertility preservation methods, click here.

We wish all women struggling with illness to find the strength to fight for their health and their dreams!