Fertility Preservation Toolkit

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Share Your Story! Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics calling for patient stories about cancer and fertility - blog post image

Share Your Story! Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics calling for patient stories about cancer and fertility

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The Journal Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics has chosen to dedicate an issue to stories about patients and families who faced fertility issues as a result of a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Because children and young adults may have their future ability to become a parent compromised by cancer treatment, it is important that they understand what their options for preserving their fertility are before they start treatment.

The Journal is asking for young adults or parents of children who faced this dilemma to share their personal experience – whether they chose to preserve, chose not to, or even only learned of their infertility after treatment. All perspectives and experiences with this complex challenge are encouraged to participate.

In writing your story, the editor asks that you consider these questions:

  • What were you told about the possible loss of fertility as a result of cancer therapy? How did the information affect you?
  • If you were offered fertility preservation options, how did you decide what to do?
  • If you were not offered fertility preservation options, how do you feel about this?
  • What about your experience was positive? What was negative?
  • What could have been done different to improve your experience?
  • What would you want to tell people who face a cancer diagnosis where the therapy might affect future fertility?
  • What would you want to tell health care professionals who work with patients facing the possible loss of fertility due to cancer therapy?

These questions are just ideas – the goal is that your story reflect your true experience and address the issues that you feel are most important in your story.

AFP Board Member, Nanette Elster, JDR, MPH, commented on the value of publishing first-person patient accounts: “By putting a face to the issue and personalizing the very real dilemmas, these stories not only help to raise awareness, but also demystify the issues as well. Empathy is so important and by sharing one’s own narrative it becomes possible to increase the empathy of others.”

Those interested in submitting a story should first submit a short summary (approximately 300 words) to the editorial office via email: narrativebioethics@gmail.com

Story summaries should be sent in by JULY 20, 2016.

References

  1. http://www.nibjournal.org/authors/guidelines.html