Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells. These drugs travel throughout the body and are designed to affect fast-growing cells such as cancer cells.

This means they can also damage other cells that grow quickly, including in the ovaries. If treatment reduces the total number of eggs, there is a high risk of infertility.

The risk depends on:

• the drugs used – some types of chemotherapy drugs are more likely to damage eggs than others
• the dose you are given – the risk of damage to eggs increases with higher doses and longer treatment times
• your age – the number and quality of eggs decrease with age.

Having chemotherapy can cause your periods to become irregular or even stop for a while, but they often return to normal within a year of finishing treatment. If your periods do not return, the ovaries may have stopped functioning permanently, causing early menopause.

Some chemotherapy drugs can affect your heart and lungs. If this causes long-term damage, it may make a future pregnancy and delivery more difficult. Your specialist will talk to you about what precautions to take during pregnancy.

Listen to our podcasts on Making Treatment Decisions and Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis