If you decide to have fertility treatment you will have the same sort of tests mentioned in the fertility testing information. Your partner (if you have one) will also need to have some tests.
treatments
There are different sorts of fertility treatment. The type you are advised to have will depend on the way that your cancer or treatment has affected your fertility.
It might be useful to look back at the section about what is fertility before going through this section.
if you are not producing eggs
If you are not producing any eggs at all, you will not be able to become a parent unless you stored your embryos or eggs before your cancer treatment.
using frozen embryos
When the frozen embryos are needed, they are thawed and placed in the womb (usually not more than one at a time) to see if they will implant and develop. Pregnancy rates using frozen embryos are generally lower than when using a fresh embryo, but even so healthy babies have been born in this way.
using frozen eggs
This is a newer, more experimental technique which is much less successful than freezing embryos. The eggs are frozen until needed. When they are later thawed they may be fertilised by a sperm (from your partner or a donor). The success rates for having children with this procedure are very low.
using frozen ovarian tissue
A new and experimental technique is to take and store samples of ovarian tissue that contain some eggs. The ovarian tissue can be put back into the body at a later date. This technique is at a very early stage of development and hasn’t been widely used.
using donated eggs or embryos
If you don’t have any frozen embryos or eggs the only fertility treatment available is to use eggs or embryos that have been donated by someone else. People who donate eggs or embryos are carefully chosen.
Their general health is checked and they are offered counselling to make sure that they understand exactly what it means to help infertile people in this way.
If you decide to have fertility treatment using eggs or embryos from a donor you will also be offered counselling and information about what it involves. There can often be a waiting list for this treatment.
using donated eggs
If your partner is fertile, you may be advised to have treatment using donated eggs. The donated eggs are fertilised with your partner’s sperm in the laboratory. The embryos that are formed are then put into your womb. You will need to have treatment with hormones before the embryos are implanted and during the pregnancy.
Since egg donors are usually young women with good fertility the chances of a successful pregnancy with this treatment are high.
