Chemotherapy and radiation therapy, both common cancer treatments, can have a devastating effect on fertility. Many people become infertile after cancer treatment, which is why you should consider egg or semen freezing before cancer treatment. Below, we will take a look at how cancer treatment affects fertility, as well as how egg freezing and semen freezing work.

How Cancer Treatment Affects Fertility

Cancer treatment can damage the quality of eggs and sperm, making it impossible for conception to occur. In addition, chemotherapy can induce early menopause in women. Although there is a chance that you will still be able to conceive naturally after cancer treatment, there is no way to guarantee that you will still be fertile. Unfortunately, a large portion of patients who survive cancer at a young age do not go on to have children. Freezing your eggs or sperm before starting treatment can help you have children even if you are infertile after the treatment.‍

How Semen Freezing Works

‍Semen can be frozen for use in future IVF cycles. The semen freezing process is easy and inexpensive, and you can provide as many semen specimens as you would like. As long as you live within 30 minutes of the clinic, you can collect your semen specimen at home, then bring it to the clinic to be frozen. To ensure the best sperm count, you should not have ejaculated repeatedly prior to providing the specimen. Your doctor can discuss how many specimens would be appropriate for you to preserve.

‍How Egg Freezing Works

‍Egg freezing is a more complicated process, and you must have a good egg count to be a candidate. During this process, you will receive medications that help stimulate your ovaries to cause multiple eggs to develop. Once the follicles are mature, the doctor will collect the eggs from the ovaries using a minimally invasive procedure. When you are ready, the eggs can be used in IVF.In some cases, you may need to begin cancer treatment very soon after your diagnosis. If there is not time to perform a full egg freezing cycle, the doctor may be able to collect eggs for use in in vitro maturation (IVM), especially if you are younger and have a very good egg count. Your doctor can determine whether or not you are a candidate for both egg freezing and IVM. Dr. Randy Morris would be happy to meet with you about your fertility preservation options. To schedule your consultation today, please click below and enter your information or call IVF1 at (630) 357-6540.