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Permanent infertility with chemo?

Page last modified on: September 17, 2008
Question from Pilar: With 4 cycles of Adriamycin (chemical name: doxorubicin) and Cytoxan (chemical name: cyclophosphamide), how likely is it that a 30-year-old woman would become permanently infertile?
Answer —Kutluk Oktay, M.D.: The issue is that this type of chemotherapy results in loss of significant number of eggs from the woman's ovaries. While you may still menstruate after the treatment, your ovaries would behave like an older woman's ovaries. That means that you will have a smaller number of reproductive years to have children. Therefore, you should not waste time getting pregnant, and if you have difficulty you should seek advice from a specialist as soon as possible. If you're considering delaying childbearing further, you may also consider freezing your eggs if you're single or embryos if you have a partner because you will experience much earlier menopause than women who did not receive chemotherapy.

On Wednesday, September 10, 2008, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Fertility and Pregnancy. Kutluk Oktay, M.D. and Leslie Schover, Ph.D. answered your questions about breast cancer treatments that can affect your fertility, options for preserving your fertility, being treated for breast cancer while pregnant, and more.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Kutluk Oktay, M.D.Kutluk Oktay, M.D. is a professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the director of the Division of Reproductive Medicine & Infertility at New York Medical College.

Leslie R. Schover, Ph.D.Leslie R. Schover, Ph.D. is a renowned psychologist with a special interest in helping people resolve or manage their sexual problems, especially those problems connected with a chronic illness such as cancer.

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