Yesterday, we launched V3 of the Myoncofertility.org site.
Today – the site is called out in the Science/Health section in today’s NYTIMES :
“The National Institutes of Health is financing a new program, the Oncofertility Consortium, to help cancer patients concerned about preserving their fertility. The consortium, at myoncofertility.org, is led by the Northwestern researchers and seeks to foster wider attention to and better options for fertility preservation in young cancer patients. Participating health professionals are pursuing technologies to improve fertility options for cancer patients and helping those patients gain access to fertility help.
“Now at 50 sites throughout the country, there are local or regional resources where fertility issues can be taken care of quickly, with minimal delay to starting cancer treatment,” Dr. Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, said in an interview.
“Women who want to harvest eggs and store embryos can be treated often within a week instead of having to wait months, as typically happens at fertility clinics,” she said.
One young patient helped by the consortium was a 16-year-old girl from Southern California who was about to refuse cancer treatment after learning it would leave her sterile. All told, Dr. Woodruff said, “about 140,000 cancer patients each year should be told if treatment will damage their fertility and presented with options if this is a concern to them.”