What techniques do you use to address fertility preservation in young female patients being treated with chemoradiation therapy for cancer in the pelvis?
How do you prevent early menopause in women? Please comment on freezing of eggs, oophopexy, supine vs prone position, vaginal dialator.
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
The most important aspect of a fertility preservation strategy is to think of it early on in the discussions with your patient. Many medical centers now have a clinic or center to which patients can be referred and seen within several days. They are experts at explaining the options and outcomes wit...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
For chemo RT to pelvis like in cervical ca, we usually cryopreseve one ovary, and move the other to high up in the paracolic gutter and try to restrict RT dose.
First line for fertility preservation for a patient who is post-menarcheal is oocyte cryopreservation. Many reproductive endocrinologists are now using a quicker method for harvesting, and the medication costs can be covered with help from nonprofit organizations like Livestrong.org (https://www.liv...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
I agree with all excellent recommendations above from Drs. @Beth A. Erickson, @Alexandra M. Walsh, and @Sushil Beriwal. Another option is to use proton therapy, particularly scanning beam (Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy) with posterior/oblique angle beam. I treated a few young patients for ...