When a person hears an oncological diagnosis, his life abruptly switches into a mode of solving urgent tasks. Tests, examinations, consultations, the search for suitable therapy — everything that happens requires maximum attention. In this thread, it's hard to think about the time that will come after recovery. Meanwhile, antitumor drugs and radiation damage the reproductive system. In medicine, this effect is called gonadotoxicity.
Germ cells can be protected even before the doctor prescribes the first ivs or radiation. Freezing helps to preserve healthy sperm or eggs, so that after defeating the disease, they can calmly return to family issues. You can find out more about this procedure here.
How exactly does cancer treatment affect fertility
Most chemotherapy drugs destroy cells that divide rapidly. A cancerous tumor grows this way, but with it, healthy tissues, including reproductive ones, come under attack. Radiation therapy of the small pelvis works similarly: it injures the tissues of the ovaries or testicles.
The risk of experiencing decreased fertility depends on age, the diagnosis itself, the drugs chosen and their dosages.:
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In men, chemotherapy often leads to a sharp drop in the number of healthy sperm or temporarily stops their maturation.
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In women, drugs can deplete the natural supply of eggs and provoke an early menopause.
Since it is impossible to predict in advance whether the reproductive function will recover after treatment, they try to prepare a biomaterial before the start of basic therapy.
What kind of biomaterial can be preserved
The method is selected taking into account gender, age, marital status and the time available before the start of therapy.:
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Spermatozoa. The easiest and fastest option for men. The biomaterial is handed over at the clinic, doctors evaluate its parameters and send it for freezing. The procedure takes just a couple of days and does not delay treatment.
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Eggs (oocytes). Suitable for women who do not have a partner or who want to preserve their own unfertilized cells. To get several oocytes at once, ovarian stimulation is performed. Oncopractic uses protocols with a fast start (Random Start): they allow you to start training on any day of the cycle, without wasting a week.
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The embryos. If a woman has a spouse or a permanent partner, the resulting eggs are fertilized, after which the ready-made embryos are frozen. They tolerate freezing and defrosting well.
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Ovarian tissue. To this
