In this section we look at 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
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Freezing eggs or embryo freezing (cryopreservation)
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Freezing ovarian tissue (cryopreservation)
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Ovarian transposition (oophoropexy)
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Fertility-sparing surgery (e.g. trachelectomy, unilateral-salpin oophorectomy)
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GnRH analogue treatment (ovarian suppression)
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→ READ MORE: How in-vitro fertilisation works
Read personal stories from women who have been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant
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More resources
Prof Martha Hickey, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne and Director, Gynaecology Research Centre, The Royal Women’s Hospital, VIC; Dr Sally Baron-Hay, Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital and Northern Cancer Institute, NSW; Anita Cox, Cancer Nurse Specialist and Youth Cancer Clinical Nurse Consultant, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Kate Cox, McGrath Breast Health Nurse Consultant, Gawler/ Barossa Region, SA; Jade Harkin, Consumer; A/Prof Yasmin Jayasinghe, Director Oncofertility Program, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Chair, Australian New Zealand Consortium in Paediatric and Adolescent Oncofertility, Senior Research Fellow, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The University Of Melbourne, VIC; Melissa Jones, Nurse Consultant, Youth Cancer Service SA/NT, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Dr Shanna Logan, Clinical Psychologist, The Hummingbird Centre, Newcastle West, NSW; Stephen Page, Family Law Accredited Specialist and Director, Page Provan, QLD; Dr Michelle Peate, Program Leader, Psychosocial Health and Wellbeing Research (emPoWeR) Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne, VIC; Pampa Ray, Consumer; Prof Jane Ussher, Chair, Women’s Health Psychology, and Chief Investigator, Out with Cancer study, Western Sydney University, NSW; Prof Beverley Vollenhoven AM, Carl Wood Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University and Director, Gynaecology and Research, Women’s and Newborn, Monash Health and Monash IVF, VIC; Lesley Woods, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA.
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