Oncofertility

Parenthood was always part of your plan for the future - cancer wasn't. But infertility is a common side effect of cancer treatment, and one that you might not consider until it's too late.

If you've been diagnosed with cancer but still want the option of having children, talk to your oncologist and a fertility specialist. At Penn Fertility Care - Lancaster General Health, we can work together to make a fertility preservation plan tailored to your medical needs and reproductive goals.

Fertility and Cancer Treatment: What's The Connection?

Cancer treatment not only delays your plans of building a family, but it can also affect your body and your fertility in several ways:

• Chemotherapy: In women, chemotherapy can reduce the number of eggs in your ovaries or stop your ovaries from releasing eggs. In men, chemotherapy may damage sperm.
• Hormone therapy: Hormone therapy, sometimes used to treat breast cancer in women, can disrupt the menstrual cycle and ovulation. In men, hormone therapy for prostate cancer can disrupt sperm production.
• Radiation therapy: In men and women, radiation therapy near any reproductive organs could harm your fertility. Radiation to the brain can affect the pituitary gland, which regulates some reproductive hormones.
• Surgery: Surgery on or near any reproductive organs can create scar tissue that affects fertility. Surgery can also damage nerves and lymph nodes that play a role in sexual function. And in some cases, reproductive organs are removed.

Your Options for Fertility Preservation Before Cancer Treatment

If you're worried about getting pregnant after chemo, radiation, surgery or other cancer treatments, you have options. At Penn Fertility Care - Lancaster General Health, we offer a variety of fertility preservation methods, including:

• Egg freezing so we can use your eggs for a future in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.
• Sperm banking saves sperm for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF.
• Embryo freezing preserves an egg that we fertilize with sperm in our lab, then perform a frozen embryo transfer when you're ready for pregnancy.

Third-Party Reproduction After Cancer Treatment

If you've already had cancer treatment and are experiencing problems with fertility after chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, there are still many ways for you to create a family. Our options for third-party reproduction include:

• Donor sperm allows you to do IVF or IUI using your own eggs.
• Donor eggs mean you can do IVF or a frozen embryo transfer using your own sperm.
• A gestational carrier means someone other than you or your partner carries and delivers your child.

The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Difference

When you choose Penn Fertility Care - Lancaster General Health for your oncofertility care, you'll find:

• Leading experts: As part of the top hospital in Lancaster, you have access to leading experts in both reproductive endocrinology and infertility and oncology.
• Fertility treatment discounts: We want to make parenthood accessible and affordable for everyone. If you've received a cancer diagnosis, we offer a 20% discount to help you pay for fertility treatments and services.
• Infertility research and clinical trials: We have access to Penn Medicine's fertility preservation research initiatives and clinical trials, which means we're at the forefront of the latest advances in this field.

Make an Appointment

Call 717-544-0107 or request an appointment to schedule your fertility consultation.