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Cancer is rare in young people. The average age in Austria for a man to get cancer is approximately 65 and for a woman, 67. However some kinds of cancer affect younger people, for example: leukaemia, lymphoma, breast and testicular cancer. These can all affect people at the peak of their reproductive ability.
When a man has cancer, sperm can be deep-frozen before chemotherapy or radiation takes place and used for fertilisation at a later date, if required. This is a simple procedure. However, when a woman has cancer the situation can be more complex. Currently, a few fertilisation centres can preserve fertilised or non-fertilised eggs or ovarian tissue for use in future fertility treatments. The KinderWunschKlinik is investigating the possibility of preserving ovarian tissue or eggs prior to cancer treatment.
Before the commencement of cancer treatment the risk of damage to the ovaries should be made clear to the patient. If the patient wishes to have a child at a later date, the doctors should take all possible measures to protect the ovaries. The KinderWunschKlinik is currently investigating whether cancer treatment can be postponed while eggs are extracted from the woman following hormonal treatment before being frozen (fertilised or unfertilised).
A few clinics can extract eggs without previous hormone stimulation using in-vitro maturation. There is also the possibility of taking medication that protects the ovaries from chemotherapy.
Finally the ovarian tissue can be extracted and frozen to be grafted back after the cancer treatment has been successfully completed. However, only a small number of pregnancies have been achieved using this technique.
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