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About Breast Cancer>Side effects>Fertility > Fertility treatment options

Fertility treatment options

About Breast Cancer>Side effects>Fertility > Fertility treatment options

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Breast cancer treatments can cause medical menopause, meaning the egg supply in your ovaries becomes low. Medical menopause may be temporary or permanent. Chemotherapy may also speed up natural menopause. Because of the potential impact of cancer treatments on fertility, it is important to learn about steps you could take to protect your fertility before beginning cancer treatment.

Our Oncofertility Tool addresses some common concerns, but your options may be impacted by your age, diagnosis, and treatment plan. Print out this chart, or write down a list of questions to share with your doctor or fertility specialist. This can help make your priorities clear to your provider and help them to better address your personal concerns and situation.

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Treatment Delay Cost Impact on HR+ Cancer Impact of Age Partner/Donor Needed
Key
  • No Delay =No Delay
  • Two Week Delay =2 Weeks
  • Treatment Cost = $5,000 $5k
  • Partner Needed =Partner Needed
  • Partner Not Needed = No Partner Needed
Pre-Treatment Options
No fertility treatment

No

Yes

Partner Not Needed

Ovarian suppression to preserve fertility plus $5000

No

Yes

Partner Not Needed

Ovarian tissue freezing plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000

No

Yes

Partner Not Needed

Embryo (fertilized egg) freezing Two Week DelayTwo Week Delay plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000

No

Yes

Partner Needed

Oocyte (unfertilized egg) freezing Two Week DelayTwo Week Delay plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000

No

Yes

Partner Not Needed

Post-Treatment Options
Surrogacy with egg donation plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000

No

No

Partner Not Needed

Adoption plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000plus $5000

No

No

Partner Not Needed

Key:

  • No Delay = No Delay
  • Two Week Delay = 2 Weeks
  • Treatment Cost = $5,000
  • Partner Needed= Partner Needed
  • Partner Not Needed= No Partner Needed
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If you are interested in learning more about fertility preservation, please speak with your healthcare provider as soon as possible and ask for a referral to a fertility specialist. A specialist will help answer your questions, talk about the pros and cons of each method, and help you consider other factors.

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Reviewed and updated: August 1, 2019

Reviewed by: Kristin Smith

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Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to create a world that understands there is more than one way to have breast cancer. To fulfill its mission of providing trusted information and a community of support to those impacted by the disease, Living Beyond Breast Cancer offers on-demand emotional, practical, and evidence-based content. For over 30 years, the organization has remained committed to creating a culture of acceptance — where sharing the diversity of the lived experience of breast cancer fosters self-advocacy and hope. For more information, learn more about our programs and services.