The Alliance for Fertility Preservation wanted to make you aware of an important and insightful study to understand how young women who have completed cancer treatment make decisions about their fertility, reproductive health, and planning for future parenthood. This is, of course, something we’re passionate about, which is why we want to help spread the word!
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Assistant Professor Catherine Benedict, PhD, is leading the charge on this study, which will serve as an extension of her own research that discovered young adult females who survive cancer do not receive enough information about their fertility. One of the many goals of this study is to gain information that will create an informative tool to help future patients assess their options, while considering their own personal goals and priorities, and inform what avenues they pursue for having children after cancer.
“Our solution,” Dr. Benedict is quoted as saying, “is to create a website that offers support with decision-making and planning for the future. We hope the tool we create, based on what we learn from this study and the experiences of young women, will help future patients and survivors think through their options, plan ahead, and prepare for any potential barriers to parenthood that may exist. In doing so, we hope that survivors won’t miss their window of opportunity to have a child or experience undue strain during the process because they are unprepared medically, emotionally, or financially. This generation is comfortable with web-based and smart technology and this affords an easy way to reach patients where they are, without having to return to the hospital as a first step.”
In addition to being on the AFP’s Advisory Council, Dr. Benedict serves on the board of Stupid Cancer, the largest YA cancer group in the world. She also volunteers for the Samfund (which addresses the financial impact of the disease on young adults). Her goal in serving is to help improve the long-term quality of life of young people after completing cancer treatment by changing the way medicine is practiced to better support their needs.
If you are a female survivor who was diagnosed between the ages of 15 – 45 years old and would like to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to fertility or family-building, please go to the link below and lend your story to help others in their journey to become parents after cancer: