When a young woman hears the word “cancer”, the world collapses. The questions come downstream: What happens to my health? What will my life look like after treatment? But for many of them, one of the hardest questions is another: “Can I become a mother?”.
“The incidence of neoplasia has increased in recent years, including patients under 40. And treatments, whether we are talking about chemotherapy, radiotherapy or even immunological therapies, can affect the ovarian reserve in women and spermatogenesis,” explains Dr. Cezara Bucur, primary obstetrician-gynecology doctor at Regina Maria, with a human-specialization.
Breast cancer, for example, is increasingly encountered in young patients, before they founded a family. And in men, testicular cancer appears even at 18-19 years. All these situations make oncifertility – that is, the combination of oncology and reproduction medicine – a vital branch of modern medicine.
Fertility can be kept, even before treatment
Good news comes from the solutions area. Before starting oncological treatment, there are procedures by which fertility can be preserved. “Ovarian stimulation can be started at any time, at any time of the menstrual cycle, because we are a counter-carometer. The patient goes through an 8-10-day injection cycle, after which the oocytes are harvested,” Dr. Bucur details.
If the woman has a partner, these oocytes can be fertilized, and the obtained embryos can be frozen. “We will always opt, if we have a couple, to freeze embryos, because the embryos resist better over time and increase the chances of success after treatment,” adds the doctor.
For men, things are simpler: collecting a few sperm samples and freezing, rapid and risk -free procedure. Essential is for the patient to receive the information in time, and the oncologist immediately sends to a fertility center.
There are also situations when the time does not allow even ten days of stimulation. Then, doctors can resort to adjuvant measures, such as GNRH analogues, which “rest” the ovaries or testicles during the treatment, partially protecting their function.
Fears, questions and chances of real
An aspect that anxious patients anxious is whether postponement of treatment with a week or ten days for ovarian stimulation could affect their healing chance. “This question always appears and is natural. The answer is that a one -week or ten -day delay does not compromise the successful chances of oncological treatment. Moreover, for hormon -dependent cancers, such as breast, there are special protocols through which we control the level of estrogen throughout the stimulation, so that the oncological safety is,” explains.
The chances of becoming a mother after treatment are directly related to age and quality of frozen oocytes or embryos. “I had 40 -year -old patients who harvested 15–16 oocytes and obtained 4-5 blastocists. After completing the oncological treatment and they went into remission, I did the transfer and, at 44 years, they gave birth to a child. The age remains the most important factor: the younger the patient.”
In fact, the real chances of treatment are comparable to those of any other woman of the same age and with the same ovarian reserve. In other words, not the cancer “cuts” the chances of becoming a mother, but rather the lack of preserving measures before therapy.
Emotional support and multidisciplinary team
Oncifertility is not only about biology and medical procedures, but also about emotion, balance and support. “I noticed that patients who have a partner more easily accept the idea of cryoprezering, because they feel the couple’s support. Most of them had them when I frozen embryos,” confesses Dr. Bucur.
Therefore, the medical team also includes a psychologist. “We have a team psychologist and the psychological opinion for the in vitro fertilization procedure is mandatory. It is an overwhelming period for the patient, and emotional support makes the difference.”
Success comes from the close collaboration between oncologist, gynecologist, fertility and psychologist specialist. The rapid communication between these specialists gives women the safety that they should not choose between life and the dream of being a mother.
In the face of an oncological diagnosis, many women feel that motherhood becomes an impossible dream. But the medical reality shows something else. “It is not a fatal diagnosis from the perspective of maternity. We are in the 21st century, there are viable and validated solutions. It is essential for patients to know early and quickly reach a fertility specialist, because the chances exist and can be transformed into reality,” says Dr. Cezara Bucur.
Oncofertility does not delete the pain of a diagnosis, but it provides a forward. For many patients, the thought that one day they will be able to hold their child in their arms is more than hope-it is a force that helps them fight.
