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Cancer Diagnosis

Male and female cancer patients who are undergoing cancer treatment are recommended to freeze their eggs/sperm, or make embryos and freeze them in order to safeguard their fertility. We understand the difficulty with being diagnosed with cancer, therefore we strive to provide the highest level of care possible with the hope that you leave the stress of your fertility in our safe hands.
FERTILITY PRESERVATION WHEN UNDERGOING CANCER TREATMENT

At Wijnland Fertility we work closely with the oncologist treating you, in order to give the best quality and appropriate care that you need. We understand the difficulty of receiving a cancer diagnosis, which can sometimes feel more like a death sentence to some. With this traumatic experience in mind we understand that fertility won’t be at the top of your ‘to do list’, and that’s why we want to help. We want you to focus on yourself, while we focus on your fertility. We treat with the main aim of safeguarding your fertility and keeping it safe until you are ready to revisit it. Our fertility treatments change slightly according to various factors relating to your cancer diagnosis and treatment, so, we tailor your treatment according to our open communication we nurture with your oncologist.

Not all cancer treatment is harmful, however, with that said there are many that are. We work very closely with your oncologist so that we can offer you the best fertility treatment that is specific to you. At Wijnland Fertility, we strive to always put your health first, and so we will never suggest fertility treatment unless there is an indication for it.

Along with our main goal of safeguarding your fertility, we also aim to keep you well-informed about how your cancer diagnosis may affect your fertility. We will always be very honest and open about your chances of conceiving post cancer treatments, and we will always offer our guidance where it is needed.

Female related cancer

Female fertility treatment options involves the cryopreservation of eggs, ovaries and/or embryos. One can cryopreserve one of or a combination of the options available.

Egg freezing

  • Primarily recommended for single women
  • Also recommended for women who are not ready to freeze embryos
  • Also recommended for same-sex women

Embryo freezing

  • Recommended for women who are in a stable heterosexual relationship who are emotionally ready/prepared to fertilize eggs, incubate them and freeze any subsequent blastocysts
    • Freezing embryos are beneficial because one can get a more accurate idea of how many chances you may have to achieve a pregnancy, whereas with freezing eggs one still needs to fertilize them and wait to see how many blastocysts are present thereafter (which one can only know after the eggs have been thawed)
  • Recommended for same-sex women who are emotionally ready/prepared to use donor sperm to fertilize the eggs

Ovarian tissue freezing
It is important to note that ovarian tissue freezing has only recently exited it’s experimental phase of development, and is only indicated for patient specific cases as well as be performed by specialized laboratories (such as ours).

  • Recommended for pre-pubertal cancer diagnoses
  • Recommended for patients that are diagnosed with oestrogen sensitive tumours

Egg as well as ovarian tissue freezing
Recommended for patients with a low ovarian reserve who are under pressure to commence cancer treatment.

Male related cancer

Most cancer related treatments have a known negative affect on sperm quality, thus it has been advised that you freeze your sperm before you undergo any cancer treatment. It is further advised that one freezes more than one sample, in order to have a ‘more than sufficient’ bank of sperm in order to safeguard your fertility potential.

It is always important to remember that sperm freezing should be done BEFORE cancer treatment, as most treatments have a permanent effect on the sperm. Sperm freezing is also relatively inexpensive when compared to the female equivalent of egg freezing, as well as being non-intrusive. Once cancer treatment has taken place, one can always discard sperm if it is no longer needed.

Frozen sperm can be used for the following procedures (depending on the quality pre-freeze):

When should I consider?

At Wijnland Fertility, we understand that receiving news that you may or have cancer is one of the most difficult news to deal with. However, with this in mind, it is always important to remember that the sooner you see a fertility specialist after receiving the cancer diagnosis, the better. We understand that this is a big ask, emotionally, however we only want to ensure that we optimise each and every chance we get to safeguard your fertility.

 

Still have questions?
Should you require any additional information, please contact the clinic directly and one of our friendly staff members will happily assist you.
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