Cancer Patients Seek National Policy on Fertility Treatment
Approximately 11,000 people between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed with cancer each year in England. While many patients in this age group go on to become long-term cancer survivors, a large percentage of them are rendered infertile as a result of their cancer treatments.
Modern medicine continues to offer new options for those wishing to have children after they’ve had chemotherapy, radiation or surgical treatments for cancer, but these options can be expensive.
Now physicians and patient advocates in England are calling on the National Health Service (NHS) to implement a national policy granting cancer patients universal access to a range of fertility preservation services including egg, embryo, and sperm storage.
While some NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) managers already fund fertility services and professional fertility counseling for cancer patients, a survey conducted by the charity Cancerbackup highlighted some significant disparities in the options being offered by different PCTs.
According to the charity’s poll, one-fifth of the 84 PCTs polled did not fund sperm storage and half did not offer embryo storage.
England, like many other countries, is already struggling to meet the needs of their patient population with the finite resources at their disposal so funding fertility services will be a complex issue. As two experts offering different perspectives pointed out,
“When faced with a number of competing issues and guidance, PCTs are charged with making difficult decisions on priorities based on local need.”
“It is unacceptable that access to fertility services for cancer patients is dependent on where you live.”
Joanne Rule
Chief Executive, Cancerbackup
If you’d like to read more about fertility preservation options available to cancer patients living in the United States, you can visit the MD Anderson Cancer Center web site.
Source: BBC News Health
Related Links: Times Online; View London; fertilehope.org; American Society for Reproductive Medicine
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Tags: cryopreservation; health care reform; sperm bank; United Kingdom; oophorectomy; Assisted Reproductive Technology – IVF/FET/GIFT/TET/ZIFT
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