Category: Fertility Preservation
Female cancer patients interested in preserving their fertility prior to treatment may choose from a variety of options including egg banking, embryo banking, or ovarian tissue cryopreservation. While some fertility preservation techniques, such as egg and embryo baking, require a 2 to 3 week delay…
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In 1971, the National Cancer Act was signed in to law to find a cure for cancer through research and clinical trials. Since that time, scientists have learned many nuances about cancerous cells and tissues and significantly increased survivorship rates for many cancers. Where a…
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Tiffany and her husband, Dave, at a “Pre-Chemo” party the week before she started chemotherapy Around this time last year, Tiffany found a small lump under her arm near her breast. The 28-year old knew that the lump was most-likely a benign cyst so she…
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Newborn Hope, May 2001 In the late 1990s, Lauren and Henry were a young married couple looking forward to starting a family when Lauren was diagnosed with cancer. Lauren and Henry were advised by her doctors to retrieve eggs and bank embryos but the couple…
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In 2006, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published recommendations that oncologists discuss fertility preservation with cancer patients. A recent survey, funded by the Oncofertility Consortium’s pilot grant program, investigated pediatric oncologists’ attitudes about fertility preservation and their patterns referring young people for fertility consultations.…
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Over the past decades, the patient-doctor relationship has changed dramatically in the United States. This may be due to changes in the amount of time that patients spend with their doctors and the rising costs of health care. Consequently, patients often spend more time educating…
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Third and final day of our visit with Kirsten the journalist. We really enjoyed her stay and hope she’ll come back soon! —– By Kirsten Tellam Today was a more difficult day at the lab, not because of the work I was doing, but because…
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The October 11, 2010 issue of TIME magazine highlighted the importance of fertility preservation for cancer patients. The article discussed the mission of the Oncofertility Consortium and interviewed a young cancer survivor, Holly, who underwent fertility preservation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. Since…
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Did you know that some breast cancer patients do not receive information about breast reconstruction options at the time of diagnosis? The Cancer Support Community (CSC) issued a survey to 840 women with breast cancer from July 14 – August 20, 2010; of these women,…
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The Nobel Prize committee announced today that the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Dr. Robert Edwards for his role in developing human in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the 1950s, a young Robert Edwards earned his Ph.D. by performing research on…
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! This week, The Washington Post shed light on a section of the health care reform law that directly impacts breast cancer research in young women in terms of desired outcomes and available funding. Between 2010 and 2014, the law…
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The fourth annual gathering of oncofertility specialists occurred this week at Northwestern University’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago, IL. More than 150 people from 24 states across the US and three countries joined in on two days of talks and workshops. The events ranged from…
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In 2010, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 135,000 people under age 45 will be diagnosed with cancer. Though cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, can destroy fertility, medical treatments can prevent fertility loss for many people. The Oncofertility Consortium is working…
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Picture by Alison Kim, PhD Many people have never heard of the term parthenote, the byproduct of a process called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis occurs when an egg becomes activated and starts dividing without sperm. While parthenogenesis happens frequently in many plants and vertebrate animals, it is…
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In previous blogs, we discuss some of the currently available techniques in oncofertility, including sperm banking for men and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) for women. As one of the newer techniques, OTC allows women to have their ovaries removed, cryopreserved, and then reimplanted later. This…
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In preparing for fertility preservation, cancer fighters may worry about the risks of fertility preservation on the health of their future children. Fertility techniques, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), produced more than a million babies over the past 30 years. As such, it is…
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More than two years ago, Kara DeFrias began a blog about her journey to conceive a child. Over two years, this journey was unsuccessful. In the attempt to determine the cause of her infertility, doctors discovered that Kara had uterine cancer in February of 2010,…
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I read an article last week and just can’t stop thinking about it. The article, posted in the New England Journal of Medicine, is a case study of a patient at Massachusetts General Hospital. Briefly, the case study tells the story of a woman who…
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Patients with cancer and those in need in of stem cell treatments often risk losing their fertility in exchange for a clean bill of health. Fertility preservation options give these patients the ability to have children. Additional patients, such as those with autoimmune diseases, can…
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Receiving a cancer diagnosis is traumatizing. Your doctor runs some tests, possibly sends you to a specialist, and then tells you the bad news. Within a few days, you must process this life-changing information, decide on and receive fertility preservation, and start cancer therapy. But…
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The mission of the Oncofertility Consortium is to advance and promote fertility preservation options for cancer patients. However, treatments for diseases besides cancer can also cause infertility. In particular, patients who undergo stem cell transplants can lose reproductive abilities from their treatments. A variety of…
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Over the past decades, advances in fertility, such as in vitro fertilization, also increased reproductive options for female cancer patients. Prior tobeginning chemotherapy and radiation, patients can now freeze down their eggs or embryos to be used after beating the cancer. Unfortunately, these options are…
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In 1990, Mary-Claire King, PhD made a groundbreaking discovery: she identified a gene that was similar in people with inherited forms of breast cancer. She identified this gene by examining families with rare forms of breast cancer, such as those occurring early in life, in…
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In 1995, Matthew Zachary was a typical, yet talented, college student attending Binghamton University in upstate New York. While studying to become a music composer, Zachary was diagnosed with a brain cancer called medulloblastoma. After successfully fighting the cancer, Zachary founded I’m Too Young for This!…
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