Do cancer treatments cause infertility?
When facing cancer, survival is most important. However, you should know that the treatments used to fight your cancer may affect your ability to have children. Cancer treatments can cause infertility and premature ovarian failure. The following factors can influence a woman’s risk: • Age at diagnosis or treatment • Pre-treatment fertility status • Type and dose of chemotherapy • Location and dose of radiation • Surgical area Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery can all affect your reproductive system. In general, the greater the total dose of chemotherapy and radiation, the higher the chance for reproductive problems. Here is more information on a few of the treatments and their affect on fertility: Chemotherapy Chemotherapy can damage or destroy your eggs. Your age, the type of chemotherapy, and the dose of the medications can influence your risk. Certain chemotherapy agents are more damaging than others. Generally alkylating agents are the worst. The risk of infertility for some of t
