Childhood Cancer and Fertility: Oct. 14 Informational Session |
|
|
October 14 Info Session
UW Hospital, Room G5/119
6-8pm
Sandy Bakk, (608) 890-8312
UW Health Services
 MADISON – When a child has cancer, the adult years may seem remote as parents focus on the present – getting their sick child through treatment and surviving a life-threatening disease.It may be hard for parents think beyond the present and to envision their children as parents themselves in the future. But for some children with cancer, decisions made before treatment may very well determine whether or not that child will someday be able to have a family of his or her own.
Free Informational Session: Oct. 14
To help parents understand fertility issues as they relate to childhood cancer, and to gather information from families about the best ways to address these topics when a child is about to undergo cancer treatment, UW Health's Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Advisory Group (PHOAG) will hold an informational session on October 14, 2008 as part of its quarterly meeting.
The panel discussion is open to the public from 6-8pm and will take place at UW Hospital and Clinics, 600 Highland Avenue (view Map and Driving Directions), in the auditorium near the cafeteria (room G5/119). (See event details below.)
The panel will include Sana Salih, MD and Daniel Williams IV, MD, UW Health physicians who specialize in reproductive endocrinology and fertility issues. Other panel members include health psychologist Joel Wish, PhD; Lisa Keller, a nurse practitioner at American Family Children's Hospital; and Charles Bormann, UW Health's Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility lab director. One of the side effects of a child's cancer treatments may be infertility. However, different cancer treatments have different effects on the reproductive system. It's difficult to predict a child's exact risk of infertility in adulthood.
According to the American Cancer Society, about three out of four children treated for cancer will live for many years post-treatment. Though high cure rates mean that most childhood cancer patients are living into adulthood, the very treatments that saved them may cause infertility issues for survivors in the post-treatment years. Fertility Preservation in Post-Puberty Boys
In today's medical landscape, post-puberty boys are the only population of young cancer patients for which proven fertility-protection measures currently exist. Sperm banking helps post-puberty boys preserve their fertility, since frozen samples are not damaged by long periods of storage.
Nurse practitioner Lisa Keller says approaching a teenage boy and his family about sperm banking can be an embarrassing conversation, but it's one that may spare him problems down the road. "It's kind of awkward, but it's sort of like it's now or never," says Keller. "We don't always know which treatments will leave kids with the ability to reproduce, so we kind of have to guess that any chemo or radiation could have an impact on fertility." Keller says the timing of such discussions can be "very inopportune." "It's something like this: 'I'm sorry to tell you, your child has cancer… and do you want a sperm sample?'" Keller says. "As they're going through treatment, these boys might be thinking, 'Just go ahead and cure me and talk to me about it later.' But 10 or 15 years from now, they might say, 'Hey, how come no one ever offered this to me?'" Experimental Methods for Girls and Young Boys
Though sperm banking for post-puberty boys is the only proven method of fertility preservation for young cancer patients, experimental methods for girls and pre-pubescent boys are also being researched. However, these methods are not yet widely available. Such experimental methods include:
"This technology's not developed right now, but they're working on it," says Keller. "This field is constantly moving forward and we'd like to be a part of that and offer these new options to our patients as early as they're available."
What Do Families Want to Hear?
In addition to educating parents about the fertility-sparing technology advances on the horizon for childhood cancer patients, the October 14 informational session will also include a discussion to help American Family Children's Hospital staff determine the best ways to broach the topic with families.
"I think we would be remiss if we overlooked the fact that a lot of adults will want to become parents," Keller said. "If we don't address this prior to treatment, we kind of lose our opportunity after we start the therapy."
Oct. 14 Informational Session Details
Date published: 9/18/2008 News tag(s): childrens,cancer 
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
| Survey: Tell us what you think about uwhealth.org | |
| Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA) Page updated: 9/26/2008 |
|