Fertility Treatment for Cancer Patients Is Reality. Even If They Don't Know It Yet.

Houston is a major destination for people battling cancer. The city's medical center is renowned for providing the most advanced cancer care available, and patients come from around the world to access life-saving science and techniques. Besides the facilities in the centrally-located Texas Medical Center, there are also cancer treatment centers in outlying areas around Harris County where patients are receiving the benefits of cutting edge research put into clinical practice.

More cancer patients are surviving and going on to live healthy, happy lives. But many forms of cancer treatment result in infertility. Fortunately, the technology exists now to take steps to preserving a person's fertility for the future. Freezing embryos and freezing eggs top the list of techniques proving successful. And for patients who have types of cancer that are transmitted genetically, the technology is available to screen embryos for the related genes.

I've networked for several years now with organizations that assist cancer patients, groups like Livestrong's Fertile Hope program, the Young Survivors Coalition, and the Susan G. Koman Foundation. Speaking to groups about fertility preservation is always eye-opening for them and for me. I continue to hear the same sense of surprise and sometimes regret from participants who wish they had known before undergoing cancer treatment. I wish they had known, too.

If you know someone who's struggling with cancer, let them know that infertility doesn't have to be part of the result. Help me and other reproductive endocrinologists make fertility treatment available to cancer patients, by spreading the word about the hopeful possibilities.

Also see:

Women Want Working Options for Motherhood
On Lindsay Nohr Beck's presentation at ASRM 2009.


Fertility Preservation and Oncology
My thoughts about Jane Brody's column on how oncology is still behind the curve in addressing their patients' future fertility needs.

When It Comes to Cancer, We're All On the Same Team

Did you know that many women who survive cancer are unable to have children later? That's because life-saving cancer treatments can result in complete sterility. Fortunately, cancer survivors are increasingly speaking out about what they want out of life after illness. I've been privileged to offer these women fertility-sparing options so they can choose life both ways.

This Saturday, October 2nd, one of my sons is running in the 2010 Komen Houston Race for the Cure. A couple of years ago, I spoke to a gathering of women who form the Education Committee of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Houston, the nation's premiere advocacy and research organization. The questions from this particularly well-informed audience led me to realize that more general public education is needed.

Cancer survival increases steadily. Fertility treatments to allow survivors to become parents is available. What is still slowly developing is a pipeline of patient information and referral. Too many women find themselves on the infertile side of cancer treatment asking why they hadn't heard of fertility preservation before it was too late.

The Komen Foundation has funded great strides in research to help women survive cancer and go on to have fulfilled lives. I urge you to do what you can to continue supporting their mission. And spread the word yourself to friends affected by cancer: fertility preservation is not experimental science. It is medical care that is currently available.

Women Want Working Options for Motherhood

At last November's ASRM meeting, some of us had the pleasure of listening to Lindsay Nohr Beck, the founder of Fertile Hope, present the patient's perspective on egg freezing. A podcast of that presentation is now online and available.

I think you'll find Lindsay's remarks (and the photos of her beautiful children) to be meaningful. The point she consistently boils down to is that women want the option to freeze their eggs, and they want it to work.

TV Reflecting Hopeful New Reality

Especially after hearing from my staff (who atttended the annual Young Survivors Conference in Dallas last month ) about the mix of hope and anguish that young women with cancer express about their future motherhood, it was reassuring to see the very popular TV show, Grey's Anatomy, work the forethought of fertility preservation into a current, compelling storyline.

A young woman must undergo intense and immediate treatments for invasive cancer. Her colleagues and friends think ahead for her and automatically include the OB team in her treatment plan.

In this related scene, the cancer patient's boyfriend reveals the understandable and expected emotions involved as people struggle to muster hope amid fears:

Upcoming Seminar on Fertility Preservation

On Monday, January 19th, I will be speaking to a public audience on the topic of egg freezing for fertility preservation.

Hosted by the Young Survivors Coalition, a non-profit breast cancer support and advocacy group, my primary focus will be on the potential for women who are newly diagnosed with cancer to protect their eggs from sterilizing effects of chemo or radiation therapy.

Our primary goal is to continue getting the word out there, so that pre-cancer treatment fertility preservation considerations are standard of care in the oncology field. I welcome attendance at these presentations by patients and professionals alike.

I like to present in a casual Q&A style, so please feel free to come with your questions.

The location will be one of the facilities of The Rose, an organization committed to helping all women be adequately screened for breast cancer.

When: Monday, Jan 19th, 6:30 PM
Where: The Rose, 12700 North Featherwood, Suite 260 Houston, Texas 77034


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This presentation is made possible in part by Fertile Hope and Organon, a part of Schering-Plough Corporation.

Article in Houston B.A.B.Y. Magazine

[Edited 11/26/08: We now have a copy of the article in PDF format on our BabyLater.com site. Read it here...]

I'm featured in an article for Houston B.A.B.Y. Magazine, a publication of Houston Family Magazine. The October issue is available in digital format here (click on the cute baby face cover), and you can find print issues at Krogers, and in OB/Gyn and pediatrician offices.

The article is called "From Cancer to Parenthood: Reproductive Expert Helps Survivors Create New Life" and includes a pretty interesting photo of Dr. Stoddart in the lab.

I'm glad the feature highlights my efforts at bridging the gaps between oncologists and reproductive specialists. Patients are the prospective losers if the facts about fertility preservation aren't immediately available at that very first discussion about cancer treatment. Making those physician-to-physician connections well in advance of patient need will be the key to enabling more survivors to become parents later.

Please feel free to share this article with your physicians and friends.

For easy sharing by email and for printing, I recommend this: find the article on page 16, click on the article title words "From Cancer to Parenthood" to display the article in easy-print format. From there, you also have options to post the article on your Facebook, MySpace, and other favorites. (Technology is great, but tricky at times...)