Medical Fertility Preservation at Women’s Health Melbourne
When young women and people with ovaries have treatment for serious medical conditions such as cancer, fertility is an important aspect of care to consider.
When young women and people with ovaries have treatment for serious medical conditions such as cancer, fertility is an important aspect of care to consider.
Chemotherapy, radiation and pelvic surgery for conditions such as endometriosis can be damaging to ovaries and threaten future fertility.
Often when a diagnosis is sudden, fertility preservation decisions have to be made quickly.
Options to preserve fertility for the future include:
Freezing ovarian tissue (surgically obtained)
Freezing eggs or embryos (using IVF related technology)
Protecting your ovaries during chemotherapy and radiation therapy but “switching them off” hormonally. The medication used to achieve this is called GnRH agonist therapy.
Your preference and options depend on your age, your circumstances, and how quickly treatment like cancer therapy has to start.
The goals of fertility preservation therapy is to provide hope and fruitful resources to help you conceive and have children when your urgent therapy is over and you are well again.
If fertility preservation therapy has not been possible, and your cancer treatment is associated with early menopause, uterine radiation damage or hysterectomy, there may be other ways your fertility specialist may be able to assist you to have a baby. Examples include pregnancies conceived via donor egg, donor embryos and gestational surrogacy.
Written by Dr Raelia Lew
RANZCOG Board Certified CREI Fertility specialist, Gynaecologist and the Director of Women’s Health Melbourne.
Co-host of the Knocked Up Podcast, Co-founder of Ellechemy intimate wellness solutions. Raelia has a PhD in Preconception Health Promotion and Genetic Screening. Raelia is a leading Australian expert in IVF and egg freezing, pioneering a bespoke model of care.