What fertility preservation options are available for women after cancer treatment ends? Dr. Terri Woodard, a reproductive endocrinologist, reviews potential approaches to preserving fertility and explains how she supports and empowers patients as they navigate their next steps.
Dr. Terri Woodard is a reproductive endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. Dr. Woodard holds a joint appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Baylor College of Medicine and the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Learn more about Dr. Woodard.
Related Resources
Transcript
Jamie Forward:
So, let’s talk a little bit about what happens if the conversation about reproductive health doesn’t take place prior to treatment. Are there steps post-treatment that patients can take?
Dr. Terri Woodard:
Yes. And when I came to MD Anderson about 13 years ago now, I guess I had a very naïve sense of what I would be doing.
I thought, “Okay, I’m going to freeze eggs. I’m going to freeze sperm. It’s fertility preservation. Fertility preservation.” But what I quickly realized is about 30 percent of the patients I see are survivors of cancer who may not have known about this opportunity or may not have been able to take advantage of the opportunity. So, the question is, what can I do now? So, we will do a thorough fertility investigation to see what their reproductive status is, and from there, develop potential treatment plans that can help them build their families.
And in some cases, patients have to kind of re-envision how they thought they would build their families because we do have a considerable number of people who are in fertile post-treatment and might need to consider third-party reproductive options such as donor eggs, donor embryos, donor sperm. So, again, that’s why I think it’s so important, even at that initial consultation.
To state that even if you can’t do anything, or you don’t have the time, you don’t have the money, or you just choose not to, we can always circle back and find some other options if they’re acceptable to you.
Jamie Forward:
Okay. And you know, we’ve really been talking about sort of women’s based GYN type cancers, ovarian, cervical, etc. But it seems like this may apply across the board for blood cancers such as leukemia and other things. This really applies to every cancer type. Would you agree with that?
Dr. Terri Woodard:
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
Jamie Forward:
And so, as a physician, how do you empower patients to be proactive about fertility preservation? What is your sort of – what do you sort of lead with?
Dr. Terri Woodard:
So, I really feel like the most important thing that I do as a physician is the education. When people know things, that is so empowering.
It gives so much agency. So, just letting patients know that, “Hey, this may be a risk. These are the things that you can potentially do,” is the most important thing that we, as reproductive endocrinologists, can do. And I will say that the angriest patients that I see are the ones that come and say, “No one told me that this could happen to me,” and “I didn’t get the chance or the opportunity.” So, honestly, the baby pictures on my wall, I love them because they’re awesome. But in terms of, I think the most important work, it is the education.