Cancer: the diagnosis no one ever hopes to receive. The time following this is often met with fear and uncertainty. It can feel physically, emotionally, and logistically overwhelming. While treatment often becomes the immediate focus, many women diagnosed with breast cancer still dream of growing their future family. That’s where fertility preservation comes in, giving patients options and hope for life beyond cancer.
Caylor Trigg, RN is one of our nurses who meets patients wherever they are on their fertility journey. For some, that looks like preserving fertility.
How Breast Cancer Treatment Can Affect Fertility
Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and certain hormone therapies can damage eggs or impact ovarian function. The way most of these treatments work is by killing cells in your body that divide quickly. This includes cancer cells, but also healthy cells, such as the ones in your ovaries.
The ovaries make many hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. Your body needs hormones to release eggs from your ovaries each month and prepare your uterus for pregnancy. Chemotherapy medications can prevent or reduce the body’s ability to release these hormones by damaging the glands that produce them. You could go into premature or early menopause. This can be temporary or permanent.
Some chemo medication can deplete your ovarian reserve, making it more difficult to get pregnant after treatment.
Whether or not you are fertile after chemo depends on many factors such as age, your hormone levels after chemo, the type of cancer you have, and the type/dose of chemo you get.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are some medications that may leave a lasting impact on your fertility more than others. Chemotherapy medicines that are most likely to cause infertility in women are:
- Busulfan
- Carmustine
- Chlorambucil
- Cyclophosphamide
- Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
- Lomustine
- Mechlorethamine (Mustargen)
- Melphalan
- Procarbazine
Other chemo medicines can also affect fertility.
Higher doses of chemo are more likely to cause fertility changes that don’t get better. The same is true if you get more than one of these medicines. Ongoing infertility is also more likely when you are treated with both chemo and radiation therapy to the belly or pelvis.
Fertility Preservation Options
Some patients may need to take an aggressive option (as directed by their oncologist) to treat the cancer, such as the medications listed above. However, the good news is there are some options when it comes to fertility preservation. The most common are below:
- Egg or Embryo Freezing: This is an option that Blue Sky Fertility is more than happy to provide. It is the most common and effective method. This involves ovarian stimulation with an egg retrieval to either freeze eggs or fertilize the eggs in the laboratory with sperm, to then freeze the embryo.
- Medication To Protect the Ovaries: This is an option to discuss with your oncologist. Some patients will opt to take medication such as Zoladex or Lupron. These work by temporarily shutting off the ovaries to prevent damage from the chemotherapy drugs.
Collaborating with Oncology Providers
It is imperative for your oncologist to communicate with the fertility team. This helps guide us to work in the fastest and safest way possible. Your health is always our priority. We want you to be able to preserve your fertility and get the lifesaving care you need without compromising on either end.
Blue Sky Fertility will always work closely with oncologists to fast-track appointments and minimize treatment delays. Fertility preservation is not competing with your cancer treatment; it is aligned with it.
Emotional and Practical Support
There’s no doubt that receiving a cancer diagnosis is emotionally overwhelming and the same can be true for undergoing fertility treatment. Having a strong support system can make a meaningful difference in your journey. In addition to leaning on family and friends, consider adding other supportive professionals to your networks such as a counselor or therapist who can help you navigate the emotional challenges ahead. We are happy to provide resources for therapy.
Financial assistance is available for those pursuing fertility preservation. Our Blue Sky Fertility billing team will work quickly with your insurance company and can connect you with grant opportunities and local organizations that offer support. We stay closely connected with groups throughout Kansas City to ensure our patients are informed about the latest grants and scholarships available for fertility care.
Realistic Timelines and Next Steps
Blue Sky Fertility does everything we can to preserve your fertility in the fastest timeline possible. Once we have fertility clearance from your oncologist, our nursing team will go to work by adding you to our soonest IVF cycle. We then work quickly to order medications and prepare your body for ovarian stimulation. Ovarian stimulation consists of 10-12 days of injectable medications that is followed by an egg retrieval. You will collaborate with our physician, nursing, and embryology team to determine the best treatment protocol for your future family.
Surviving cancer and becoming a parent can both be part of your story. At Blue Sky Fertility, we’re dedicated to supporting every patient; regardless of your background or journey. We are committed to helping you achieve a life after cancer to include the joy of parenthood!
Caylor Trigg is a registered nurse and IVF coordinator at Blue Sky Fertility. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Pittsburg State University in 2020 (Go Rillas!). Following graduation, she began her nursing career in organ transplant before transitioning to fertility care in 2021. She values the nurse-provider collaboration and strong sense of teamwork that BSF has in order to provide the best patient care. Caylor is passionate about empowering patients with knowledge, showing compassion during decision making, and provide hope to those navigating a difficult season of life.
