Raising awareness about breast cancer and oncofertility during October

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is the perfect time to discuss breast cancer and oncofertility. Our Las Vegas fertility center team strives to help women take control of their reproductive health. This is especially true when a woman is facing a cancer diagnosis. By raising awareness about undergoing fertility preservation before cancer treatments, more women can start or grow their family after they beat cancer.

What is oncofertility?

Oncofertility might seem like an overwhelming term, but it simply means fertility preservation for patients with cancer. Lifesaving cancer treatments can damage fertility. However, by preserving sperm, eggs or embryos before beginning treatment, women and men can preserve their ability to have children in the future.

When it comes to breast cancer and oncofertility, women have two options to preserve their fertility at our Las Vegas fertility center.

• Egg freezing is ideal for women who think or know they want to have children in the future, regardless of whether they have a current partner. The woman will take medications to stimulate the production of multiple eggs in her ovaries. One of our fertility doctors will then retrieve her eggs and our lab will freeze them for her future use.
• Embryo transfer is for patients who know they want to have children with their current partner in the future. Instead of simply freezing the woman’s eggs, our laboratory fertilizes them with sperm from her partner. They then freeze the healthy embryos for the future.

Although not as common, men can also get breast cancer and may want to preserve their fertility. When this occurs, they can provide one or more semen samples, which our laboratory will prepare and freeze.

Breast cancer and oncofertility – Finding hope

Cancer treatments are more effective than ever before, and more patients are beating cancer and going on to live full and healthy lives. Having children is often a part of a full life for many people, which is why oncofertility is so important. We are honored to help patients preserve their fertility so that they can have children when they are healthy again.

Our Las Vegas fertility center expedites fertility preservation for patients with a cancer diagnosis, so please let us know that you’re preparing to undergo cancer treatment when you call us at (702) 254-1777. If you have questions, contact us to schedule a consultation.