FAMILY PLANNING CONCERNS
Cancer throws a wrench in family planning for young women as well. “Some treatment such as chemotherapy may temporarily damage the ovaries and cause immediate or premature ovarian failure,” explained Dr Tan.
Such patients can consider fertility preservation options such as oocyte (egg) cryopreservation, which involves 10 to 14 days of ovarian stimulation with hormones to develop mature eggs. These eggs are collected, cryopreserved and stored for future use, said Dr Tan.
Alternatively, married women may consider freezing embryos, eggs that are already fertilised with their partner’s sperm, she added.
Such decisions may be extremely stressful for young breast cancer patients. Said Clara: “After dealing with a cancer diagnosis and having to accept treatment and all the side effects that come with it, to then have to think about fertility and go through another procedure to freeze eggs was overwhelming.
“In addition to cancer treatment cost, I was also concerned about the cost of egg freezing and storage, something which I was not sure insurance covered.”
“At that time, it was more pressing to start cancer treatment so I decided against fertility-preserving procedures so as to start cancer treatment immediately. However, today, I wonder if I should have taken a different path or if I am missing out,” she added.