Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have an impact on fertility, sometimes they even completely take it away, so both a man and a woman can still become parents. Securing the genetic material before starting oncotherapy gives a chance for a child after the cancer has been cured.
Although it seems to be of little importance in the face of cancer, the inability to have children may turn out to be a life drama after the oncological disease is cured. Therefore, if oncological treatment does not need to be started immediately, it is worth considering one of the methods of fertility preservation.
Not all cancer treatments cause infertility in patients, but every patient should be aware of the risk. You should know that most of the methods currently used in oncology can reduce fertility or lead to infertility.
In women, the ovaries may stop producing eggs, unable to implant an oocyte in the endometrium, or have problems reporting pregnancy. Premature menopause can occur because cancer treatment destroys the egg reserve in the ovaries. And even if a woman remains fertile after cancer treatment, therapy may hasten the decline of ovarian function and lead to premature menopause.
In men, oncological treatment may lead to the suppression of sperm production, the production of malformed male gametes or erection problems.
Effect of chemotherapy on female fertility
The fertility of a woman suffering from cancer depends on her age at the time of diagnosis and treatment, fertility status before treatment, type and amount of chemotherapy dose, place and dose of radiotherapy, and the surgical site.
The longer the therapy lasts and the higher its doses are, the greater the risk of damage to the reproductive system. Chemotherapy can damage or destroy the eggs. Radiation therapy in the vicinity of the reproductive system may damage it, but radiation in distant places does not carry such a risk.
However, infertility can also occur when the areas responsible for the production of hormones that affect the efficiency of the reproductive system (brain, pituitary gland) are irradiated. If the uterus is irradiated, problems may arise in the futureimplantation of a fertilized egg or the maintenance of pregnancy.
Surgical removal of parts of the reproductive organs (ovaries, cervix) may also contribute to infertility. After completing treatment, a woman should wait several years before trying for a baby.
Effect of chemotherapy on male fertility
Chemotherapy destroys not only cancer cells, but also he althy cells, as well as male gametes, i.e. sperm. Irradiation may damage the testes that produce sex hormones.
Surgery to save a life may result in infertility or erection problems. Semen exposed to chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be genetically damaged, but experts believe that the damage will be repaired within 2 years. So it is safe only after this time to try for a child.
Secure the reproductive material before starting oncotherapy
Cancer does not have to mean the end of dreams about your own child. Before starting cancer therapy, if there is enough time for it, you can deposit the reproductive material at the clinic.
It is most often composed of lymphoma patients, women with breast cancer, men with testicular cancer, and women suffering from endometriosis. The man can donate semen, which will be frozen, which makes it possible to use it in the future. It will be stored in a clinic chosen by the patient.
Another method is to freeze the embryos. Before oncological therapy, a woman's eggs are fertilized with man's sperm, and then they are frozen and stored until a decision about having a child is made.
The storage of ova is possible thanks to a new method of cryopreservation, which is vitrification. This method is recommended for women who have matured many eggs during hormonal stimulation and for those who cannot become mothers during this time, for various important reasons or personal choices.
Doctors recommend vitrification primarily to women up to the age of 35 who have had a cancer.
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