Harboring future hope: fertility and cancer
You might find yourself landing here for many reasons. Perhaps you are a man or woman recently diagnosed with cancer, and you’re worried about future fertility. Or you might be the spouse, family member or friend of someone facing cancer, and you have questions about the future. Or maybe you survived cancer, have a new lease on life and want to start a family.
At Texas Fertility Center (TFC), our Austin fertility doctors understand the overwhelming emotions when cancer shows up, completely unexpected and uninvited. The shockwaves of a devastating diagnosis reverberate to the patient and those who love them.
Our fertility specialists understand that managing moment to moment is hard enough, and projecting too far ahead is difficult. Let us ease your mind and handle your concerns about future fertility and cancer. At TFC, we understand starting or building your future family is an important quality-of-life issue, and you should not sacrifice your dream to a diagnosis.
Taking charge of your options
With advancements in cancer treatment, patients, survivors and loved ones can begin to consider what life after cancer looks like, which can include family building.
Initial guidelines from the American Society of Clinical Oncology emerged in 2006 to make health-care providers aware of the importance of fertility preservation. It is now better communicated to patients that certain life-saving cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy might compromise future fertility.
Our fertility center in Austin can connect you with fertility doctors who are experts in the field of oncofertility, which bridges cancer and reproductive care. Our experienced reproductive endocrinologists are in lockstep with your oncologist as we seek to fast-track your fertility care while being mindful of your cancer treatment regimen.
When considering future fertility and cancer, it is important patients, or their loved ones, contact us as early as possible to provide the widest array of options for fertility preservation. Some options may include:
- Sperm freezing – storing sperm safely for male cancer patients
- Egg freezing – using advanced cryofreezing techniques female cancer patients can preserve their eggs
- Embryo freezing – eggs removed from the ovaries are fertilized, and we can freeze the resulting embryos
- Third-party reproduction – providing extra help using an egg or sperm donor or a gestational carrier
From patient to potential parent
Cancer patients can envision a future as parents as more options are available to provide hope after cancer. We know you have important questions about fertility and cancer, and our Austin fertility doctors will provide answers and support.
At TFC, our patients are not viewed through the lens of a diagnosis, but as future mothers or fathers who want to keep their hopes and dreams alive.
To learn more, contact our fertility center in Austin.