Table of contents:
- Does blood cancer treatment affect female fertility?
- 1. Chemotherapy
- 2. Radiation
- 3. Spinal cord graft
- How to maintain female fertility before undergoing blood cancer treatment
- 1. IVF
- 2. Egg freezing
- 3. Ovarian tissue freezing
Chemotherapy and radiation are the two types of blood cancer treatments most often relied on to kill cancer cells. Although they can increase the patient's life expectancy, some of these cancer treatments also have side effects that you should be aware of. One of the most dreaded side effects of female patients with blood cancer is fertility problems. So, is it true that blood cancer treatment can make it difficult for women to get pregnant? Here's the explanation.
Does blood cancer treatment affect female fertility?
Blood cancer consists of the three most common types, namely leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. This type of cancer can be experienced by anyone at any age, especially if you have a hereditary immune system disease that can increase your risk of developing blood cancer.
Blood cancer treatment is needed to help fight cancer cells lodged in the patient's body, either through chemotherapy, radiation, or other cancer treatments. But in fact, each of the blood cancer treatments has a side effect on fertility.
1. Chemotherapy
Blood cancer treatment in the form of chemotherapy can affect fertility in women and men. In women, chemotherapy can decrease or even stop the ovaries' ability to produce eggs. This is also known as ovarian failure which results in premature menopause.
Fertility disorders due to chemotherapy usually depend on the dose of chemotherapy drugs given. Low-dose chemotherapy drugs that are given for weeks to months can reduce the fertility of the patient more quickly than giving high doses of chemotherapy drugs at one time.
Cancer drugs that are included in the group of alkylating agents are a type of chemotherapy drug that can reduce female fertility. These drugs include:
- Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
- Ifosfamide (Ifex or Mitoxana)
- Melphalan (Alkeran)
- Busulfan (Myleran or Busulfex)
- Procarbazine (Matulane)
Actually, there are still many side effects of chemotherapy that may arise. To find out more, you can find out in the article 9 Possible Effects of Chemotherapy.
2. Radiation
Source: verywell health
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. After the radiation therapy is done, the patient will usually be given a low dose (fraction) of the drug that must be taken for weeks to help reduce the side effects of radiation.
Unfortunately, the combination of high-energy rays and long-term low-dose drugs can actually destroy some or all of the eggs in the ovaries. As a result, female patients are at risk of being infertile and experiencing premature menopause.
Even if the radiation rays are not directed directly at the ovaries, they can still bounce off the body and put the ovaries at risk. To protect the female reproductive organs from fertility problems, doctors will usually "shift" the ovaries so they are not exposed to radiation.
3. Spinal cord graft
If other blood cancer treatments do not help, blood cancer patients will be directed to undergo a spinal cord transplant as a last resort.
This method is done to replace the damaged bone marrow in order to produce healthy blood cells. The hope is that this can increase the patient's life expectancy and restore his / her health to normal.
Although the benefits are enormous, this blood cancer treatment can interfere with female fertility. The reason is, spinal cord grafts usually use high doses of chemotherapy drugs or radiation therapy to the whole body before the graft begins.
Quoted from the American Cancer Society, this can stop the ovulation process permanently, so that women become infertile and cannot have children forever.
How to maintain female fertility before undergoing blood cancer treatment
So that your fertility is not compromised, you should first consult a doctor before undergoing blood cancer treatment. Especially for those of you who are planning a pregnancy program and want to have children soon, ask first about the type of cancer treatment that suits your needs.
There are several ways that can be done to maintain female fertility before and after undergoing blood cancer treatment, namely:
1. IVF
Don't be discouraged when you are convicted of infertility due to blood cancer treatment. The good news is, you still have the chance to get pregnant and have children through the IVF program.
However, this certainly requires careful planning that has been done long before cancer treatment begins. Immediately consult a doctor to find out the requirements for IVF that must be met.
2. Egg freezing
The technological advancement is called egg freezing aka oocyte cryopreservation allows blood cancer patients to breathe more easily.
This technique is performed by freezing and thawing an egg before it is inserted into the uterus. In this way, female patients who undergo blood cancer treatment still have the opportunity to have children even though they are diagnosed as infertile.
3. Ovarian tissue freezing
Ovarian tissue freezing technique is done by taking one or part of the ovarian tissue before cancer treatment, then implanting it again after the treatment is complete. This method can be a solution for female patients who want to have children after the cancer treatment is complete.
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