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Female options before cancer treatment

This section outlines ways you can preserve your fertility before starting cancer treatment. It’s ideal to discuss the options with your cancer or fertility specialist or oncofertility specialist at this time.

Keep in mind that these methods don’t work all of the time.

Learn more about:

Discussing your options

If you didn’t have an opportunity to discuss your options before starting cancer treatment, you can still consider your fertility later, but there may not be as many options available.

For more on discussing your options, see Checking fertility after cancer treatment, Other ways to be a parent and Not having a child.

Ways to preserve fertility in females

Wait and see

What this is
  • no methods are used to try and preserve fertility
When this is used
  • when you don’t have time to consider fertility preservation and choose to start cancer treatment immediately
How this works
  • no action
What to consider
Pregnancy rate
  • depends on age and cancer treatment

Freezing eggs or embryo freezing (cryopreservation)

What this is
When this is used

  • when you want to store eggs or embryos for use in the future, the frozen egg will be fertilised using IVF, or the embryo will be implanted in your uterus
How this works
  • egg and embryo freezing is part of IVF – the most common and successful assisted reproductive technology for preserving female fertility
  • one cycle of IVF can take 2–3 weeks
  • egg collection is done in an operating theatre as a day procedure
What to consider
  • you can only freeze eggs or embryos before cancer treatment if you have time – your cancer specialists will advise how quickly cancer treatment should begin
  • talk with your fertility specialist about whether to freeze eggs, embryos or a mix of both
  • ask the fertility clinic about the cost of storing eggs and embryos and any legal limits on how long they can be stored (different in each state)
  • sperm from a partner or donor sperm is needed to create an embryo
  • to use a frozen embryo, you will need consent from the sperm donor
  • legal documents outlining instructions if a relationship breaks down are required for male donors with a partner
Pregnancy rate
  • freezing eggs works nearly as well as freezing embryos
  • for every 10 eggs frozen, you can expect to get 1–4 embryos
  • depending on your age, the success rate of the fertility clinic and the stage at which the embryos are stored, there may be a 25–40% chance per cycle of a frozen embryo developing into a pregnancy

Freezing ovarian tissue (cryopreservation)

What this is

  • the process of removing, slicing, freezing and storing tiny pieces of tissue from an ovary so it can be used later
When this is used

  • if treatment needs to start immediately

  • if taking hormones to encourage egg production is unsafe

  • if there is a high risk of infertility

  • if the person hasn’t gone through puberty

  • can be used in addition to egg freezing
How this works

  • tissue is removed from your ovaries during keyhole surgery (laparoscopy); if you have abdominal surgery as part of cancer treatment, tissue can be removed at this time

  • tissue is frozen until it is needed

  • when needed, the tissue is thawed and put back (grafted) into the ovary

  • tissue may produce hormones and eggs may develop
What to consider
  • tissue stored before treatment has a risk of containing cancer cells, and you may not want to put this tissue back into your body; risk is higher for people with leukaemia
  • legal limits on how long ovarian tissue can be stored are different in each state and territory
  • ask your fertility clinic how much you will have to pay for storage
Pregnancy rate
  • there have been a small number of births worldwide from ovarian tissue removed before puberty, and several births from ovarian tissue removed after puberty
  • about 1 in 3 people who have tried to use ovarian tissue to become pregnant have been successful

Ovarian transposition (oophoropexy)

What this is

  • surgery that moves one or both ovaries to prevent damage to the ovaries during radiation therapy
When this is used
  • when one or both ovaries are in the path of radiation therapy
  • limits how much radiation the ovaries receive
How this works
  • one or both ovaries are moved away from the field of radiation and stitched in place
  • put back in place after radiation therapy ends
What to consider
  • procedure may cut off blood supply, causing damage to the ovaries
Pregnancy rate

  • depends on your age, the amount of radiation that reaches the ovaries and if you start menstruating again

Fertility-sparing surgery (e.g. trachelectomy, unilateral-salpingo oophorectomy)

What this is
  • trachelectomy removes part or all of the cervix and keeps the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries in place
  • unilateral-salpingo oophorectomy removes only one ovary
When this is used
  • trachelectomy is used for small tumours found only in the cervix
  • unilateral-salpingo oophorectomy is for early-stage cancer found only in one ovary
How this works
  • the uterus is stitched tight with a small opening to allow blood to pass out during a period and for sperm to enter
What to consider
  • risk of miscarriage and premature birth; may have a stitch placed in what remains of the cervix to reduce the risk
Pregnancy rate
  • number of births after this procedure is increasing

GnRH analogue treatment (ovarian suppression)

What this is
  • gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue is a long-acting hormone that stops the ovaries making oestrogen for a short time
  • may protect eggs from being damaged
When this is used

  • at least 1 week before chemotherapy starts, continuing until chemotherapy finishes
How this works

  • hormone injections given 7–10 days before chemotherapy starts or during the first week of treatment, then every month or every 3 months during chemotherapy
What to consider
  • backup to other fertility preservation options
  • can affect bone density if used for more than 6 months
Pregnancy rate
  • studies show that treatment is suitable for young women with breast cancer but there is no evidence for other types of cancer

→ READ MORE: How in-vitro fertilisation works

Read personal stories from women who have been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant

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This information was last updated in October 2025. See who reviewed this content.

Dr Sally Reid, Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist, Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Adelaide) and Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Dr Sarah Ellis, Clinical Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital and UNSW, NSW; John Booth, Consumer; Hope Finlen, Haematology Nurse Consultant, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Dr Michelle Harrison, Medical Oncologist – Gynaecological cancers, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Melissa Jones, Nurse Consultant, Youth Cancer Service SA/NT, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Dr Violet Kieu, Clinical Director, Melbourne IVF and Fertility Specialist, The Royal Women’s Hospital, VIC; Prof Declan Murphy, Consultant Urologist, Director – Genitourinary Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The University of Melbourne, VIC; Stephen Page, Family and Fertility Lawyer, and Legal Practice Director, Page Provan, QLD; Ann Retzlaff, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; A/Prof Kate Stern AO, Fertility specialist, Gynaecologist and Reproductive Endocrinologist, Royal Women’s Hospital and Melbourne IVF, VIC; Georgia Webster, Consumer.

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