Storage for Cancer Patients

 Surgery:

Fertility can be harmed by the surgical removal of the testicles, uterus or ovaries. Chemotherapy.
The drug and the dosage given determine the severity of the effect. Younger women who receive chemotherapy are less likely to become
infertile when compared to older women.

 Radiation:

One of the most harmful things to a person’s fertility is radiation. Radiation can be more damaging to fertility than chemotherapy, depending on the location and size of the radiation field and the dose given. In some instances, high doses of radiation can destroy some or all of the eggs in the ovaries.

 Other cancer medications:

Fertility can also be affected by hormone therapies used to treat certain cancers, including breast cancer in women. However, in most cases, these adverse effects are often reversible. Fertility can be restored after the end of the medical treatment.

Women who are about to undergo cancer treatment have various options when it comes to fertility preservation. For Example:

 Embryo cryopreservation:

This process involves the harvesting of eggs, their fertilization and their freezing, so they can be implanted at a later date. Researches have shown that embryos have the ability to survive the freezing and thawing process up to 90% of the time.

 Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation):

In this procedure, you’ll have your unfertilized eggs harvested and frozen. However, it is important to note that human eggs don’t survive the freezing procedure as well as human embryos do.

 Radiation shielding:

In this procedure, small lead shields are employed and placed carefully over the ovaries in order to protect them and reduce the amount of radiation exposure they receive.

 Ovarian transposition (oophoropexy):

If a patient is receiving radiation treatment in the pelvic area, the ovaries are surgically repositioned in the pelvis so they’re out of the radiation field when radiation is delivered to the pelvic area. However, because of scatter radiation, ovaries aren’t always protected. After treatment, it may be necessary to have the ovaries repositioned to conceive naturally.

 Surgical removal of the cervix:

To treat early-stage cervical cancer, a large cone-shaped section of the cervix, including the cancerous area, is removed (cervical conization).

 Steps to preserve Fertility in Men:

Men who are about to undergo cancer treatment, can take certain steps to preserve their fertility.

 For Example:

Sperm cryopreservation:

This process implies and involves the freezing and storing of sperm at a fertility clinic or sperm bank for use at a later date. Radiation shielding. Small lead shields are placed over the testes in order to reduce the amount of radiation exposure they receive and thus, keep fertility Intact.

 RISK:

With most fertility preservation methods, the risk of cancer reoccurring is negligible but in certain instances, there is a concern that reimplantation of the frozen tissue could lead to the re-introduction of carcinogenic cells in the body, but this too is determined by the type and stage of cancer experienced
by the individual.