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Category: Oncofertility

New Korean Oncofertility Global Partner

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Fertility Preservation, General, Global Partner, Introductions, Oncofertility
Tags: Fertility Preservation, Global Partner, Oncofertility
The Oncofertility Consortium is excited to announce another Global Partner: The Cheil General Hospital (CGH) & Women’s Healthcare Center in Seoul, Korea!  We had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Chanwoo Park last week at the Oncofertility Consortium offices here in Chicago, IL to discuss Global…
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Examining Information Processing

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Education, Oncofertility, Research, science
Tags: cancer, clinical research, fertility, Fertility Preservation, publication
The Oncofertility Consortium is pleased to welcome Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron as a guest blogger today. This is a blog post based on the article, Toward theoretical understanding of the fertility preservation decision-making process: examining information processing among young women with cancer by authors P.E. Hershberger, L. Finnegan,…
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Insurance Coverage for Fertility Preservation

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Communication, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: Advocate, cancer, Fertility Preservation, insurance, Oncofertility, publication
Chapter 14 of Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships across Disciplines addresses an extremely important issue in healthcare, insurance coverage.  The authors, Dr. Laxmi Kondapalli and Alice Crisci, wrote Incorporating Insurance Education into the Fertility Preservation Process to outline strategies that may facilitate access…
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AYA Twitter Chat TODAY 12:30pm CST (#YACancer)

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Patient Stories
Tags: Advocate, AYA, cancer, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Personal stories, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
Recently, Mashable featured Jenna Benn in a wonderful article: Wedding, Career, Chemo: When Cancer Derails the Millennial Dream.  Jenna Benn is a patient of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at and a wonderful friend and supporter of the Oncofertility Consortium. Due to the…
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The Rest is History

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, children, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Patient Stories
Tags: cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Oncofertility, patient navigation, Personal stories
Today, we are honored to have another patient guest blogger; long-term survivor Colleen Cira.  Read through her incredible story below and join the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center this evening, March 25, from 5-8pm for “Drinks with Docs (& Healthcare Providers)” at Bridge House…
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Evidence-Based Medicine in Oncofertility

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Communication, Education, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Research, Virtual Grand Rounds
Tags: clinical research, education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research
Educating Providers on Evidence-Based Medical Guidelines is a chapter of Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships across Disciplines where the authors, Lauren N.C. Johnson and Dr. Clarisa R. Gracia, outline previous medical paradigms and how they have changed to incorporate new evidence-based medical guidelines in…
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Preserving Oocyte Reserve

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Education, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Research, science
Tags: Fertility Preservation, publication, Research
Today we welcome Dr. So-Youn Kim from Dr. Woodruff’s Lab at Northwestern University as our guest blogger.  Dr. Kim will review a recent article published by Dr. John C. Schimenti in Science 2014. ONE MORE STEP TOWARDS PRESERVING OOCYTE RESERVE By: So-Youn Kim, PhD According…
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Perspectives on Fertility

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, children, Communication, Education, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, publication
Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships across Disciplines devoted an entire chapter to the communication strategies and issues faced by oncology providers.  Chapter 10 is entitled Fertility Communication to Cancer Patients: A Hematologist-Oncologist’s Perspective and is authored by Sara Barnato Giordano.  As cancer treatments…
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Communication Disparities

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, children, Education, ethics, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, ethics, Fertility Preservation, patient navigation
The next chapter in Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships across Disciplines addresses Disparities in Adolescent Patient-Provider Communication Regarding Fertility.  The authors, Amanda B. Fuchs and Dr. Robert E. Brannigan, provide detailed information regarding the disparities between providers and their adolescent patients even though…
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Global Partner: Portuguese Centre for Fertility Preservation

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Global Partner, In the news, Introductions, Oncofertility
Tags: education, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
The Oncofertility Consortium is happy to welcome the Portuguese Center for Fertility Preservation as a Global Partner.  We currently work with reproductive specialists from all over the world in an effort to better serve children, adolescents and young adults with cancer and other fertility-threatening diseases.  Learn more about…
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Learning to Bridge the Information Gap

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: BRCA, breast cancer, cancer, education, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, teresa k woodruff
Information gaps are widely apparent in patient-physician relationships due to a multitude of factors.  Some patients are not interested or emotionally able to process information provided by the physician while certain physicians may not be comfortable discussing various options with their patients or feel that…
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Communicating Fertility to High-Risk Patients

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Research
Tags: BRCA, breast cancer, cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation
Women who have a high risk of breast or ovarian cancer face a number of looming decisions; from whether or not to undergo prophylactic surgery, to electing increased surveillance, to taking risk-lowering medication.  Interwoven with these decisions is the implication each will have on fertility.…
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Oncofertility: Education and the Role of Decision-Making Tools

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research, science
Tags: cancer, education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, patient navigation
Education materials, whether in print or web-based, have a large role in helping patients feel confident in their medical decision-making.  Continuing with our overview of Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships across Disciplines, Chapter 3 focuses on the importance of education, and the role of decision-making…
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Communicating Across Diverse and Differently Literate Audiences

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
Tags: Advocate, cancer, education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, publication
We can all remember a time when we have received medical information from our doctor and have walked away with little or no comprehension of what was discussed.  The second chapter in Oncofertility Communication: Sharing Information and Building Relationships Across Disciplines is entitled Communicating Across…
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The Stupid Cancer Show: Perspectives on Life after Cancer

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
Tags: Advocate, cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Personal stories, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stupid Cancer
Here at the Oncofertility Consortium, we’re huge fans – both personally and professionally – of Matthew Zachary, the force behind Stupid Cancer; the nation’s largest support community of young adult survivors of cancer.  Created in 2004 (first as Steps for Living, then transitioning into I’m Too…
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Perspectives from the 7th annual Oncofertility Conference

Author image - Brigid Martz Smith By: Brigid Martz Smith -
Categories: Blog, Conferences, Education, Fertility Preservation, General, National Physicians Cooperative, Oncofertility
Tags: Conference, Fertility Preservation, National Physicians Cooperative, Oncofertility
Oncofertility is a multidisciplinary field of experts coming together to provide fertility options to cancer patients.  The multidisciplinary nature of the field was on display during our 7th annual Oncofertility Conference in Chicago, Illinois.  During the course of the conference, we saw presentations from international…
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President-Elect of the American Medical Association To Speak at the 2013 Oncofertility Conference

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Conferences, fertility, Oncofertility
Tags: 2013 Oncofertility Conference, cancer, Fertility Preservation, MD, Oncofertility, Robert M Wah
The Oncofertility Consortium is proud to announce that Robert M. Wah, MD, reproductive endocrinologist, ob-gyn, and president- elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), will be speaking at the 2013 Oncofertility Conference on the evening of September 9th. Dr. Wah practices and teaches at the…
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Tomorrow’s VGR: Psychological Aspects of Fertility Preservation

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, ethics, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, quality of life, social science
Tomorrow, August 8th, we are excited to be hosting Angela Lawson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, for our Virtual Grand Rounds (VGR) at 10 AM CDT, entitled, “Psychological Aspects of Fertility Preservation.”…
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After Cancer: Surrogacy As a Fertility Option

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Oncofertility, Personal stories, Surrogacy
By Jen Rachman At age 26, I was living my life, self-sufficient, secure and independent. I took care of myself physically and emotionally. Life was nearly perfect, until the routine trip to the gynecologist that wound up saving my life. When you hear the words, “you…
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Breast Cancer Genes Verdict a Triumph for Women

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
Tags: Advocate, BRCA1, cancer, Fertility Preservation, legal, women's health research institute
Below is a guest post by Megan Castle, Program Coordinator for the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University.  By Megan Castle Geneticists, researchers, and patients joined in celebration over last [month’s] unanimous Supreme Court ruling involving the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, colloquially referred to…
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Support For Fertility Preservation Is Now An AMA Policy!

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility
Tags: AMA, Fertility Preservation, infertility, insurance, Oncofertility
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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Get Empowered, A New Video Series for Childhood Cancer Survivors

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, Fertility Preservation, Get Empowered, Northwestern University, Oncofertility, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
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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New Study Aims to Better Understand the Cause of “Chemo Brain”

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, clinical research, Northwestern University, Oncofertility, tamoxifen
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: Virtual Grand Rounds Talks Sexuality After Cancer

By: Oncofertility Admin -
Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility
Tags: cancer, Northwestern University, Oncofertility, sex, sexuality, virtual grand rounds
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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