Tag: Egg Banking

Moving Beyond Cancer

By: Brigid Martz Smith - July 27, 2015

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, In the news, Oncofertility, Patient Stories

Tags: breast cancer, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Personal stories, publication

The Oncofertility Consortium was highlighted in the Spring 2015 issue of Northwestern Medicine Magazine in the article “Moving Beyond Cancer“. In this issue, Holly and Richard Manprisio, and their journey to build a family, are highlighted. Holly conquered stage 4 Hodgkins lymphoma when she was just 13 and was…

By: Brigid Martz Smith - October 15, 2014

Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, In the news

Tags: cryopreservation, Egg Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation

Yesterday, it was announced that Facebook and Apple are offering egg freezing as part of their insurance coverage for female employees. Today, there are various editorials, blogs, and opinion pieces regarding the policies; some supportive, some not. Facebook began offering coverage of up to $20,000…

By: Brigid Martz Smith - November 20, 2013

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.…

Registration is Now OPEN for the 2013 Oncofertility Conference, September 9 & 10

By: Oncofertility Admin - June 5, 2013

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Conferences, Education, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, science

Tags: cancer, clinical research, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation, oncofert13, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation

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…

OMG2013 Cancer Summit Follow-Up: Talking Fertility

By: Oncofertility Admin - May 9, 2013

Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research

Tags: cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Laxmi Kondapalli, OMG!2013, Oncofertility, Sperm Banking, Stupid Cancer

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,…

2013 National Infertility Awareness Week: April 21st-27th

By: Oncofertility Admin - April 26, 2013

Categories: Blog, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, infertility, NIAW, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Sperm Banking

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…

Our Voice, Our Narrative, Our Twists on Cancer

By: Oncofertility Admin - January 17, 2013

Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, Brushes with Cancer, cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, Jenna Benn, Oncofertility

Below is a guest post by Oncofertility Consortium favorite and cancer survivor extraordinaire, Jenna Benn. Jenna is a young adult Gray Zone Lymphoma survivor, who preserved her fertility prior to beginning her cancer treatment in 2011. In the excerpt below, she writes about her experience as a cancer survivor, and shares…

ASRM: Egg Freezing No Longer “Experimental” Technique

By: Oncofertility Admin - October 19, 2012

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Conferences, Fertility Preservation, General

Tags: ASRM, cancer, Egg Banking, Egg Freezing, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

This weekend kicks off the 68th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in San Diego, CA and runs through October 24th. ASRM was founded in 1944 by a small group of fertility experts in Chicago and since then, distinguished members of…

New Article Calls for Female Fertility Preservation Best Practice Guidelines

By: Oncofertility Admin - July 25, 2012

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Fertility concerns should be addressed with all newly diagnosed reproductive age cancer patients before their treatment begins. Although some treatment courses are thought to be more damaging to fertility than others, it is imperative that every patient is well-versed about the potential impact their treatment…

Teal Diva Shares Her Story of Cancer, Fertility, and Resilience

By: Oncofertility Admin - June 8, 2012

Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, cancer, Egg Banking, hysterectomy, infertility, Oncofertility, ovarian cancer, Personal stories, Shannon Routh, Teal Diva

As part of our guest blog series, the Oncofertility Consortium would like to introduce our readers to Shannon Routh, and her organization for young survivors of ovarian and gynecologic cancers, Teal Diva, founded in 2009. Below is a post she wrote about her experience with…

Fertility Preservation and Sex Disparities

By: Oncofertility Admin - May 18, 2012

Categories: Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: breast cancer, cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, quality of life, Sperm Banking, Techniques

Infertility has been associated with psychological distress and can have a negative impact on quality of life in cancer survivors. Reproductive concerns are often sited among young cancer survivors prior to, and following cancer treatment. A number of fertility preservation (FP) options are available to…

Pediatric and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Fertility Preservation

By: Oncofertility Admin - March 31, 2012

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Education, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research

Tags: clinical research, cryopreservation, education, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, omg2012, Oncofertility, publication, Research, Sperm Banking, Techniques

At the Oncofertility Consortium, we stress the importance of collaboration among clinicians, basic scientists, and the humanities in an effort to ensure that cancer patients have fertility options after treatment. This is no small feat, but the emerging field of oncofertility is constantly evolving as…

Fertility Preservation and African American Breast Cancer Patients

By: Oncofertility Admin - March 23, 2012

Categories: Advocate, Blog, Cancer, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research

Tags: breast cancer, cancer, education, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Gwendolyn Quinn, infertility, Oncofertility, publication, quality of life, Research

As previous studies have shown, women diagnosed with cancer during their reproductive years often do not receive adequate consultation, and sometimes none at all, regarding the fertility risks of cancer or its treatment. Fertility is a unique survivorship issue that young cancer patients face, which…

Training the Next Generation in Oncofertility: Part I

By: Oncofertility Admin - January 11, 2012

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Research

Tags: cancer, clinical research, education, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Laxmi Kondapalli, Northwestern University, Oncofertility, ovarian biology, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Research, Techniques, University of Colorado, Woodruff Lab

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…

Examining Cancer, Fertility, Sexuality, and Gender – A Study

By: Oncofertility Admin - November 9, 2011

Categories: Blog, Cancer, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility, Research

Tags: Advocate, cancer, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation, infertility, LGBT, Northwestern University, social science, Sperm Banking

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.…

Bright Pink and the Oncofertility Consortium Partner Up for Fertility Preservation

By: Oncofertility Admin - November 7, 2011

Categories: Advocate, Blog, Conferences, Fertility Preservation, In the news, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, breast cancer, Bright Pink, cancer, cryopreservation, education, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, oophorectomy, ovarian cancer, Surrogacy, teresa k woodruff

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,

Fertility Preservation Goes Italian!

By: Oncofertility Admin - October 12, 2011

Categories: Blog, Fertility Preservation, General, In the news, Introductions, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, cancer, Dormant Buds, education, Egg Banking, Embryo Banking, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Italian, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Sperm Banking

At the Oncofertility Consortium, we are always trying to make sure that we have the most up-to-date and accessible information regarding fertility preservation, particularly for patients. Whether we are partnering with advocacy groups to let patients know about support services available to them or we…

Fertility Preservation: Childless by Choice

By: Oncofertility Admin - August 19, 2011

Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: cancer, cryopreservation, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Personal stories, quality of life, Techniques

We hope that all patients of reproductive age who are diagnosed with cancer have the opportunity to discuss oncofertility with their provider shortly after diagnosis. This conversation should include the options, risks, benefits and various outcomes of available fertility preservation techniques. Oncofertility decisions can have…

Ethical Implications of Investigational Fertility Preservation Research

By: Oncofertility Admin - August 15, 2011

Categories: Blog, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility

Tags: cancer, clinical research, cryopreservation, Egg Banking, ethics, Fertility Preservation, infertility, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Techniques

The goal of oncofertility is to preserve the future fertility of cancer patients and ensure they have reproductive choice after they’ve finished treatment. Not all methods of fertility preservation are considered “established” techniques meaning they are viewed as experimental and must be offered under Institutional…

GiveForward Makes Fertility Preservation Possible

By: Oncofertility Admin - August 3, 2011

Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, fundraising, GiveForward, infertility, insurance, Oncofertility, Sperm Banking, Surrogacy

It’s not uncommon for people to gift others with money on a birthday, or a graduation, at a wedding, etc.., but what about when people really need it? What about when people are in times of personal crisis? Statistics show that 60% of all bankruptcies…

Family Planning Post-Cancer: Reproductive Options

By: Oncofertility Admin - July 8, 2011

Categories: Blog, fertility, General, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, Egg Banking, fertility, infertility, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Oncofertility, patient navigation, Sperm Banking, Surrogacy

Planning a family post-cancer can be a complicated process if a patient’s fertility was compromised during their cancer treatment. Depending on a cancer survivor’s prior treatment regime and subsequent fertility options, a number of family planning options may be available to them. I spoke with…

A Personal Story of Preventative Ovarian Removal

By: Oncofertility Admin - June 22, 2011

Categories: Blog, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, clinical research, education, Egg Banking, fertility, Fertility Preservation, mastectomy, Oncofertility, oophorectomy, Personal stories

A few weeks ago, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference, I walked over to the Bright Pink organization’s booth to introduce myself. In doing so, I met a young woman manning the station as a volunteer for the organization and we hit…

Young Cancer Survivors Connect Over Cocktails

By: Oncofertility Admin - June 17, 2011

Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, education, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, Northwestern University, Oncofertility, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, patient navigation, quality of life, Sperm Banking

In March, we blogged about a survivorship event scheduled for April 7th at the Museum of Science and Industry entitled A Night at the Museum: An Evening for Young Adults Touched by Cancer and we’re back to report what an outstanding success it was! The…

Chicago Celebrates National Cancer Survivor’s Day

By: Oncofertility Admin - May 25, 2011

Categories: Blog, fertility, Fertility Preservation, General, In the news, Oncofertility

Tags: Advocate, cancer, Cancer Survivor's Celebration & Walk, Egg Banking, Fertility Preservation, Oncofertility, Personal stories, quality of life

On June 5th, the 18th Annual Cancer Survivors Celebration & Walk is taking place in Chicago, IL, at Grant Park. This leisurely, non-competitive 4 mile walk is a family-focused, community awareness event dedicated to bringing together cancer survivors, friends and family, and all those who…