• In this fact sheet we will explain some of the fertility options available to you after finishing  treatment.

• If you haven’t started your cancer treatment, check out this fact sheet for fertility options before commencing treatment.

• For general information on fertility and how cancer treatment’s can affect your fertility please visit our fact sheet, fertility info for women.

You may have just finished treatment and be wondering “what happens now??” There may be hundreds of questions running through your head - mostly about getting your life back on track and moving forward.

You are probably feeling very different now compared with before you were diagnosed with cancer.

One of the things you may be wondering about is your ability to have children and if your treatment may have affected it.

Now What? Fertility once treatment has finished

• Cancer treatment can have an impact on fertility. The impact depends on the type of treatment, how much you had and your body’s response. 

It is very hard to predict what the impact may be as everyone’s body is different and everyone’s response to treatment is different. 

For more information on the different types of effects cancer treatments can have on your fertility visit our fertility info for women fact sheet.

First steps...

• The first thing to do is determine whether you had any fertility-preserving interventions before you had treatment. These are things like egg and embryo collection and freezing.

• If you were quite young when you had cancer you may not remember whether you did or didn’t have any fertility intervention. If this is the case, the best thing to do is to talk to your parents or doctor and find out.

• If you did undergo fertility preservation, then your parents or doctor will know where your eggs or tissues are being stored and will be able to put you in contact with the right people. They will then be able to outline what steps you will need to take in order to have a baby.

What happens if I haven’t had any form of fertility preservation?

• If you didn’t undergo any preservation techniques, then your first step should be to go to a fertility testing clinic and find out whether you will be able to have a baby naturally, or whether you may need some help.

• For information on places where you can have your fertility tested visit the sexual health and family planning website.

What if I did have some fertility intervention?

Egg and embryo collection and freezing

Once you finish treatment you can think about what you might like to do with your eggs or your stored embryos.

Having children may be a long way down the track though, so you might decide not to worry about it now and just think about it when the time comes.

Ovarian tissue freezing

Once you have finished treatment you can have the ovarian slices returned to your body, or they can remain frozen until you decide to have children.

Ovarian transposition

Once treatment is completed the ovaries are surgically returned as close to their normal position as possible.

Use of GnRH analogues

Once you have finished treatment you will generally stop the injections and hopefully within time your ovaries will start functioning again.

Resources

To order a free copy of our fertility book, Maybe Later Baby for young people with cancer visit our order resources page.

For more information on fertility clinics and other relevant stuff visit: www.fertilehope.org

For information on places where you can have your fertility tested visit the Sexual Health and Family Planning Website.