Category: Fertility Preservation
Please join us in congratulating Teresa Woodruff, PhD, Director of the Oncofertility Consortium and Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, on her election to the presidency of The Endocrine Society. The Endocrine Society was…
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A cancer diagnosis can be daunting to put it mildly, but add to that potentially sterilizing chemotherapy and radiation regimes and a young cancer patient faces a future of uncertainty in terms of their fertility. Fertility preservation is an option which should be discussed with…
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We often discuss the many ways young people can preserve their fertility prior to undergoing medical procedures that may leave them sterile. One of these fertility preservation options, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, or freezing, has recently been reported in the Lancet medical journal, to also successfully…
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By Nadia Johnson, Co-Director of the Oncofertility Saturday Academy On Saturday, February 18th, 31 high school girls hailing from six different local Chicago high schools celebrated the culmination of the sixth annual Oncofertility Saturday Academy (OSA) with a family day and graduation event. OSA is…
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It’s only March and two of the Oncofertility Saturday Academies (OSA) have already completed their graduation ceremonies. With this newest class, the Oncofertility Saturday Academies have educated more than 240 students across the US. Last weekend, Mary Zelinski, PhD, who heads one of the Oncofertility Consortium‘s research…
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As we have covered in past blogs, young people account for about 10% of all cancer patients. As science, research and advocacy evolve, more young people are SURVIVING cancer and going on to lead healthy and productive lives. Nonetheless, young cancer survivors are in a…
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Fertility sparing procedures which were once infrequent and under utilized, are now more commonly performed in young men and women facing a cancer diagnosis. A recent article in the February issue of the American College of Surgeons Bulletin, entitled Gynecologic Oncology Surgeons Spare Patients’ Fertility,…
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A newly released memoir from cancer survivor, Michelle Whitlock, delves into her experiences with HPV, cervical cancer, fertility preservation and love in a book that you will read from start to finish in one sitting. How I Lost My Uterus and Found My Voice is an…
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A new journal article by Oncofertility Consortium members explores the fertility and parenthood concerns of adolescent and young adult (AYA) female cancer survivors and the various components that lead to their reproductive decisions. The qualitative study that begot this article aimed to provide additional insight…
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In the next few weeks, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will be hosting an exciting new Grand Rounds session with Oncofertility Consortium member, Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, as the guest speaker. “Legal and Ethical Implications of Fertility Preservation: A Case Based Approach,” will take…
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From left: Irene Su, Laxmi Kondapalli and Maureen Prewitt This is the final installment in a 3-part blog series featuring Oncofertility Consortium member, Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE. In this post, we take a look at her current position at the University of Colorado and her…
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A recent paper by Oncofertility Consortium trainee, Jayeon Kim, MD, indicates that certain women are more likely to undergo fertility preservation prior to cancer treatment than others. The authors, Jayeon Kim, Kutluk Oktay, Clarisa Gracia, Sanghoon Lee, Christopher Morse, and Jennifer E. Mersereau, found that…
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Laxmi Kondapalli being interviewed by Dayle Cedars from Channel 7 news in Denver One of the many, if not one of the most, important aims of the Oncofertility Consortium and its emphasis on fertility preservation research and clinical care, is “training the next generation.” Not…
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By Francesca Duncan Most cancer therapies, while life-preserving, can threaten the future fertility of both males and females. Fortunately, the menu of fertility preservation options is broad, and due to ongoing research efforts through the Oncofertility Consortium and around the globe, these options are ever-expanding. …
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What is the role of an obstetrician/gynecologist in cancer care for young women? When you think about cancer and cancer treatment, most likely you’re thinking of oncology and what line of defense will be taken against the cancer. A new article in Clinical Obstetrics and…
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A recent blog post in the academic journal, Nature, explores a new report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (an organization in England that examines and reports on ethical issues in biology and medicine), suggesting that women who donate their unfertilized eggs to research deserve…
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Recently there has been a lot of attention brought to the concept of collaboration in academia, specifically in the sciences. Gone are the days (at least in our niche) where disciplines drew a dividing line in the sand – scientists keep to one side of…
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Maggie Daley (center front) with Mayor Richard M. Daley, Ann Lurie, a Northwestern trustee and philanthropist, and Steve Rosen, M.D., director of the Lurie Cancer Center and of Cancer Programs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Photo by Nathan Mandell The recent passing of Maggie Daley, wife…
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The Oncofertility Consortium and the Hormone Foundation developed fact sheets for men, women, and children to learn about the impact of cancer on their fertility, hormonal management, and fertility options. These fact sheets are available at SaveMyFertility.org, a website which provides patients and providers with…
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I’m excited to be writing about the second issue of the Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO) , the first cancer journal of it’s kind. This second issue is no small feat – many journals come and go and it takes a dedicated…
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By Maya M. Harper, M.A. Every year, 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) between the ages of 15-40 are diagnosed with cancer. They may experience this diagnosis as a devastating twist of fate that has the potential for derailing their life from its current track.…
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Earlier this year, I blogged about a young woman and volunteer with Bright Pink, Kristin Nelson, who had preventative ovarian removal after she tested positive for BRCA1. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are a class of genes otherwise known as tumor suppressors,
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I recently sat in on a new fall course offering at Northwestern University, the History of Reproduction, taught by Sarah Rodriguez, PhD. Over the last few years, Sarah has contributed her historical expertise to the Oncofertility Consortium, ensuring that the Consortium receives a healthy dose…
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Baby rhesus monkey born during Dr. Zelinski’s study Over the past decade, women who are about to undergo sterilizing medical treatments have seen a dramatic increase in the number and success rates of methods to preserve their fertility. Women can now cryopreserve their ovarian tissue,…
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