Alabama embryo ruling may have devastating effect on cancer patients

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Worries are mounting about the ruling’s effect on people, including many cancer patients, who say IVF may be their only way of having a family.

A cancer diagnosis often comes with a host of difficult decisions, including what to do about the impact of treatment on a person’s fertility. Many individuals grappling with this dual burden turn to in vitro fertilization as a way to preserve their reproductive options.having a chilling effect on IVF clinics

Madeline B., 33, said she cried when she heard the news of the Alabama court ruling. She describes feeling overwhelmed and upset but said the ruling didn’t surprise her. In men, cancer treatments can also affect fertility by damaging the sperm-producing cells in the testes. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can reduce sperm count, impair sperm quality or even cause temporary or permanent infertility. In some cases, cancer treatments may lead to hormonal imbalances that affect sperm production.

Gerber, of the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center, said that despite the rise in cancers among young patients, cancer is also being cured at a much higher rate. She added that when patients hear they have cancer, their future fertility is usually not top of mind. The Alabama ruling only exacerbates the mental health challenges they will face in dealing with future fertility decisions.

Watkins, who lives in California, says fertility treatments are the reason she is alive today. In 2017, when she went in for an ultrasound to start her IVF process, the provider found an irregularity in the imaging that turned out to be a mass on her ovary.When she got a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, she described the steps that followed as “chaotic.

 

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