Category: Fertility Preservation
Should insurance companies cover the expenses of fertility preservation when a young cancer patient is at risk of losing their fertility as a result of their treatment? This is what members of the Michigan delegation asked the American Medical Association (AMA) to support by lobbying…
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Cancer survivorship starts at the time of disease diagnosis and continues throughout the rest of the patient’s life. Many survivors experience physical, emotional and day-to-day challenges after cancer treatment is done making survivorship a life-long journey. As a result, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center…
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Below is a guest post by Anthony J. Ryals, PhD, discussing a new study underway at Northwestern University looking at the effect chemotherapy and hormone depletion have on memory and cognition in cancer survivors. By Anthony J. Ryals, PhD Prior research has indicated that up to…
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Tomorrow, June 13th, we are excited to be hosting Kamaljeet Murthy, MD, Instructor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, for our Virtual Grand Rounds (VGR) at 10 AM CDT, entitled, “Sexual Side Effects from the Treatment of Gynecologic Cancer.” Treatment for…
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On Wednesday, May 29th, the California Assembly passed Bill AB 912. On July 10th, it will be addressed by the California Senate Health Committee. For those of you who are unfamiliar with California Bill AB 912, it is a bill that would require a health…
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We have exciting news to share – registration for the 7th annual Oncofertility Conference: Cancer and Fertility Around the Globe is now open! Please visit the conference webpage to view the agenda, speaker biographies, submit an abstract (submissions closed) for the poster session, and to…
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There are nearly 7 million women survivors in the United States, 54.7% of all cancer survivors. These facts highlight the need to move survivorship education into the forefront of the conversation about cancer and thus, the Women Survivors Alliance (WSA) was born – created by…
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Cancer survivors, their families and friends, and the Northwestern community that supports them
, will come together on National Cancer Survivors Day, June 2nd, to walk and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center’s signature event, the Annual Cancer Survivors’ Celebration &…
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by Megan Carlson, Guest Blogger for the Oncofertility Consortium My name is Megan, and I will be your guest blogger for today. I’m a journalism graduate student who had the great pleasure of shadowing Dr. Teresa Woodruff Tuesday as part of my health and science…
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Many of you may already know about the widely popular organization, Stupid Cancer, but for those of you who are new to our blog, Stupid Cancer is the nation’s largest support community for young adult survivors of cancer. They support a global network of survivors,…
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In April, the Oncofertility Consortium hosted a Virtual Grand Rounds with Clarisa Gracia, MD, MSCE, entitled, “Case Studies in Oncofertility,” in which she discussed five theoretical young cancer patients and how oncofertility could be incorporated into their medical care. These patients included pediatric girls, adolescents,…
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Did you know that this week is National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW)? NIAW is a movement that began in 1989 to raise awareness about the disease of infertility and encourage the public to understand their reproductive health. RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association founded this movement…
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Since the 1990s, researchers have published conflicting results about the connection between cancer risk and fertility drugs. As a result, there has been a lingering concern among women that using fertility drugs may increase their risk for later developing hormone receptor positive cancers. Hormone receptor…
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Wouldn’t it be great if insurance companies were required to provide coverage for medically necessary expenses for standard fertility preservation services when a medical treatment may directly or indirectly cause infertility to an enrollee or insured? California Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, thinks so too and recently…
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By Marla Paul A new gentler chemotherapy drug in the form of nanoparticles has been designed by Northwestern Medicine® scientists to be less toxic to a young woman’s fertility but extra tough on cancer. This is the first cancer drug tested while in development for…
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There are an estimated 13 million cancer survivors living in the US today, with projected growth to 18 million by 2020. As a result, many healthcare groups and cancer centers are not equipped to address their growing survivor populations. Stemming from this need for quality…
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By Danielle Alyce Fanslow, Francesca Duncan, and Kate Timmerman There are several methods of fertility preservation open to female cancer patients who wish to start a family after treatment including cryopreservation of oocytes, embryos and ovarian tissue. Cryopreservation is a method of preserving biological material by…
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By Cathryn Smeyers This is the final installment in a two-part blog story featuring Oncofertility Consortium member, Gregory Dolin, MD, JD, focusing on his recent Oncofertility Virtual Grand Rounds presentation. To read the 1st blog, click here. In his presentation, Dr. Dolin highlighted some of the problems that exist within the…
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By Cathryn Smeyers On Thursday, February 21st, Gregory Dolin, MD, JD, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center of Medicine & Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, delivered our Virtual Grand Rounds. His talk, entitled “Speaking of Science: Legal Updates…
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Cancer during pregnancy is rare, occurring in approximately one out of every 1,000 pregnancies, with breast cancer being the most commonly diagnosed. In the past, both healthcare providers and women were often unclear about how to proceed with a pregnancy after a cancer diagnosis without…
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Below is an excerpt from an article in the University of Colorado Cancer Center Fund E-News featuring Oncofertility Consortium member and Northwestern University alumna, Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE. To learn more about Dr. Kondapalli, read our three-part blog series, Training the Next Generation in Oncofertility.…
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By Cathryn Smeyers A recent article in the Chicago Tribune entitled “New programs give hope to young cancer patients about bearing children,” discusses the field of oncofertility and how it can positively impact the lives of female cancer patients. The article opens with the story…
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Fertility preservation in young cancer patients has come a long way in the last decade, as both patients and the medical community have galvanized to improve the information and reproductive technologies available surrounding oncofertility. In response to the increased likelihood of young men and women…
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Several of our recent blog posts have discussed fertility preservation in females, so we’d like to take a little time to shine a light on some interesting oncofertility research focused on males. The Oncofertility Consortium is committed to exploring the reproductive future of all young…
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