Search results matching tags 'Cancer' and 'fertility'

Ice, Ice Baby: Frozen Sperm Works, 22 Years Later

katekilla — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:01:00 GMT

After all the crazy stories of fertility treatments gone mad and nutty grandparents trying to extract sperm from the dead, it's refreshing to hear about the everyday miracles advanced reproductive technology can bring to parents who yearn for a child.

Chris Biblis, now 39, was just 17 when his family and doctors encouraged him to freeze sperm for future use; he was undergoing treatement for leukemia at the time, and some of the drugs used were known to cause sterility. This was in 1987, five years before the successful injection of a sperm cell into a human egg. As anyone knows who's had "the talk" with their child, pre-teen or teenager, this subject matter can cause massive embarrassment on both sides. Thank goodness, then, that Biblis's mother was courageous and humane enough to broach the subject because last month Chris and his wife had baby Stella, born to a father now cancer-free for 20 years.

The Biblises have five frozen embryos in case they want to attempt to have more kids. But for now, I'm sure they're still amazed at how fortunate they are that science -- and Stella's grandmother -- could see into a future for that teenager fighting cancer.

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They Say: Fertility Drugs Not Linked to Ovarian Cancer

katekilla — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:01:00 GMT

A major study has confirmed earlier findings that drugs used in fertility treatment are not associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, according to an article in the New York Times. Although the study did not rule out any link with cancer -- in particularly, it echoed it offered reassurance to women alarmed by earlier research linking a rare but often deadly cancer to certain fertility medications.

From the article:

“The message to give clinicians and patients is that over all these data provide further evidence that fertility drugs do not increase the risk of ovarian cancer to any great extent,” said Allan Jensen, an assistant professor of cancer epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society and the first author of the paper. The senior author was Susanne Krüger Kjaer.

Dr. Jensen added, “You should always balance a possible small increase in ovarian cancer risk with the physical and psychological benefits of pregnancy made possible only by use of these drugs.”

The study, one of the largest ever to address the issue, looked at more than 50,000 patients seeking fertility treatment in Denmark between 1963 and 1998.

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Is Banked Sperm Really the Same as Hair and Toenail Clippings?

JeanneSager — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:31:00 GMT

The contents of a freezer that broke down at a Britain hospital in 2003 wasn't just holding yesterday's lunch. It was keeping on ice the only hope six men would ever have of one day fathering children. Now five of the cancer patients (one has since died) are locked in a battle for damages that's now in front of the country's highest court.

The men were each told that treatment for their condition may result in the loss of their fertility - sending them scurrying to the hospital to have samples of their sperm frozen to preserve their chances of becoming a dad. In June 2003, the longterm storage unit at the Southmead Hospital failed, and the thawed sperm had to be thrown away. The North Bristol National Health System Trust, which manages the hospital, admitted it was at fault, but the men have so far been told that they are not eligible for any damages.

A county court judge earlier this year compared the sperm samples to hair and toenail clippings, stating the men had no right to claim personal injury once the sperm was removed from their body. Their lawyers are now fighting to have that overturned in front of the country's two seniormost judges.

Can anyone really compare sperm saved in a medical institution to toenails clipped over a garbage can? There's no guarantee that the sperm could successfully be used to create a viable embryo, but these men put specifically entrusted their sperm to a hospital to keep it for safekeeping. They did so with the specific intention of protecting their chances of one day becoming a father, something these men may never know (at least not in the biological sense).

People who dream of one day having children, only to learn infertility problems stand in the way, often mourn as though they've felt a physical loss. To tell them that they should look at their struggles as nothing more than losing one's hair would be both cruel and condescending. Can't the same be said for these men?

Image: eHow

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Web Chats Mark National Infertility Awareness Week

AmyinMotown — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:02:00 GMT

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week! Have you finished your shopping?
Just kidding – although if you know anyone currently stuck in the pit of suckiness that is infertility, booze and chocolate rarely go amiss. Just sayin.’

RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, is sponsoring a few advocacy things this week, and while they are not universally beloved among the infertile community, our local Resolve chapter pretty much saved my sanity when we were in fertility hell. I really, really don’t like that their “take charge of your infertility” pledge talk about keeping all “medical and mental health professionals” informed – because it reinforces the stereotype that infertility is all in our heads – but I’ll always love them for the support groups alone.

They are offering two web chats during National Infertility Awareness Week. One, on Tuesday at 8 pm Eastern time, will deal with cancer and infertility will be led by Lindsay Nohr Beck, founder and executive director of Fertile Hope, who will review the available resources that can help people struggling with the double whammy of cancer and infertility communicate with your oncology and fertility teams, provide you with financial assistance, and support you in getting through this difficult time.

The other, on Wednesday at the same time will be led by Dr. Alice Domar, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and founder/director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health at Boston IVF. She will cover everything from the causes of infertility in males and females to tips for coping with the emotional impact. She will also talk about available treatments and resources that can help couples navigate medical costs.

To register for the chats, click here.