Options for fertility for cancer patients facing gonadotoxic therapies (oncofertility, chemotherapy, radiation, surgery)

What is Oncofertility

Oncofertility refers to fertility treatment in individuals who are facing chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery that may be destructive to their oocytes/eggs or sperm and thus impact their chance of conception in the future. Originally the field focused only on patients with cancer, however there are other medical conditions (such as arthritis or kidney disease) where treatment can be gonadotoxic (damaging to the ovaries or testes), where patient can benefit from fertility cryopreservation.

What is Fertility Cryopreservation?

Atlantic Fertility offers oocyte/egg, sperm and embryo cryopreservation ("freezing") for individuals who are about to undergo treatments (such as chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery) that could negatively impact their fertility options in the future.

We also offer ovarian tissue cryopreservation for pediatric patients of the IWK, with plans to offer testicular tissue cryopreservation in the near future.

The oocytes/eggs, sperm, tissue, or embryos are stored at very low temperatures (-196 degrees Centigrade or "-196°C") in special tanks in the clinic, until an individual or couple returns to use them.

Whether or not this is a good option for an individual depends on their diagnosis, prognosis, treatments planned, and timing of treatments. It also differs for individuals with ovaries (and eggs) versus individuals with testes (and sperm).

How can I start Fertility Cryopreservation?

If you have been diagnosed with a medical condition (e.g., cancer, arthritis, kidney disease) and are interested in fertility preservation, please discuss a referral to Atlantic Fertility with your physician.