Fertility Preservation Offers Cancer Patients a Chance to Start a Family Post Treatment

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Oct. 14, 2016 - PRLog -- A cancer diagnosis is hard enough.   Add to it the possibility of cancer treatments affecting fertility and many patients are left feeling overhwelmed.   There is a way for patients to preserve fertility before radiation and chemotherapy called fertility preservation.  The Fertility Center of Charleston is proud to offer fertility preservation for women or men who wish to preserve their eggs, embryos, or sperm prior to cancer treatments. The preservation process consists of cryopreserving (freezing) genetic materials to be used at a later time.


Egg Preservation
The Fertility Center of Charleston offers egg preservation for women who wish to preserve their eggs prior to cancer treatments.   The preservation process consists of cryopreserving (freezing) eggs which can later be thawed, fertilized, and placed back inside the uterus when a woman is healthy and ready to pursue a family.

During the process, the ovaries are stimulated with medication to mature multiple eggs similar to the beginning stages of IVF. Before the eggs can be released they are retrieved using a procedure known as ultrasound-guided transvaginal aspiration. During this procedure, an ultrasound probe is used to see the ovaries and surrounding structures and gentle suction is used to remove the fluid and egg. The eggs (oocytes) are then frozen and stored for future use. When ready to be used, the oocytes are thawed and fertilized with sperm to create embryos for placement inside the uterus. The frozen oocytes have no expiration date and can be stored until the woman is prepared to start a family.

Sperm Preservation
The standard strategy for male fertility preservation is cryopreservation of sperm. This procedure can be preformed prior to cancer treatment.    Frozen sperm can be used for intrauterine insemination (IUI) if sperm parameters are good and multiple collections are obtained. IUI is the process whereby a thawed and prepared semen specimen is placed into a woman's uterus at the time of ovulation.

Embryo Preservation
Embryo freezing, similar to egg freezing, is another medically accepted way to preserve the possibility of fertility for those facing cancer treatments.

As with egg freezing, the ovaries are first stimulated to mature multiple eggs through the use of fertility medications. Then, through the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF), the eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm to create embryos in the lab. The embryos are then frozen for future use and can be thawed and implanted at any time.

The Fertility Center of Charleston, Dr. Stephanie Singleton and her staff compassionately guide each patient to parenthood using the latest advanced reproductive technologies including IVF (http://www.fertilitycharleston.com/our-services/in-vitro-...). The Fertility Center of Charleston has locations in Mt. Pleasant (http://www.fertilitycharleston.com/contact-us/mt-pleasant/) & Savannah (http://www.fertilitycharleston.com/contact-us/savannah/).

To learn more or schedule an appointment:  http://www.fertilitycharleston.com/our-services/fertility-preservation/