Fertility services have been used by many individuals who suffer from infertility issues that make it difficult to conceive. However, the solutions offered at Arizona Associates for Reproductive Health are not just for people who are actively trying to become pregnant. Our facility also allows our Scottsdale, AZ, and Gilbert, AZ patients to make family planning more reliable.
Egg freezing is a good option for women who are not ready to become pregnant but want to keep their options open for the future.
This is an especially good option for women who are facing cancer treatment. Egg freezing before cancer treatment allows women to preserve healthy eggs so that they can be used down the road when the patient is ready to start a family or have another child.
The most common treatments for cancer are chemotherapy and radiation. While these methods are often the best chance a person has to destroy cancer cells, the treatments do have some unfortunate side effects. Both chemotherapy and radiation have the ability to damage a woman’s eggs. It is a very real possibility that women undergoing cancer treatment will end up suffering from infertility problems once treatment is complete.
Women who want to preserve their eggs prior to cancer treatment should consider egg freezing. However, egg freezing is not a viable option for all patients. Our doctors will discuss medical needs and family planning desires with our patients, as well as consult with their oncologist, to determine if egg freezing is an appropriate fertility treatment option.
Some of the factors that we take into consideration when determining if egg freezing before cancer treatment is possible for our patients is what type of cancer is present, how far cancer has advanced, and the cancer treatment plan. It can take up to six weeks to harvest eggs and schedule an egg retrieval so that eggs can be frozen. While it is often possible to schedule an egg retrieval before cancer treatment begins, not all patients have the ability to postpone treatment that long.
It is also important to note that frozen embryos are the most successful approach to family planning. If a woman is already married or has a partner that she would like to have children with, or is willing to use a sperm donor, frozen embryos may be a better option than frozen eggs. Of course, we realize that women are not always at this stage of their life when cancer strikes, so egg freezing is an appropriate option for those who are not ready to freeze embryos.
Frozen eggs give cancer patients the chance to have a child when they are healthy and ready to build their families. Frozen eggs can be used in IVF treatment. The frozen eggs will be thawed and fertilized in our laboratory. After a brief observation period, a healthy embryo, or embryos, will be selected for transfer.
If possible, our patients can have the embryo transferred to their own uterus. However, if cancer treatment makes this impossible, a surrogate mother can be used for IVF treatment.
At Arizona Associates for Reproductive Health, we offer a wide range of fertility services that give patients the opportunity to build the family they desire.
To learn more about our treatments and family planning options, contact us online or call (480) 860-4792 to schedule a personal consultation. We serve clients from Scottsdale, Gilbert, and surrounding AZ areas.
