http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu Exploring and expanding options for the reproductive future of cancer survivors. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:38:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Labeled on its cover as “the insider’s guide to cancer in your 20’s and 30’s,” Kairol Rosenthal’s recently published book Everything Changes explores what having cancer is like for young people. Through interviews with 25 young adults aged 20 to 39 with cancer who live across the United States, Rosenthal ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/everything-changes-the-insider%e2%80%99s-guide-to-cancer-in-your-20%e2%80%99s-and-30%e2%80%99s/ A group of surgeons and oncologists from Stanford University recently published a report that looked at the timing from initial cancer diagnoses to the beginning of surgery or chemotherapy in women who underwent fertility preservation (in the form of oocyte retrieval and cryopreservation, OR) and women who did not (CONtrol). ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/fertility-preservation-and-the-timing-of-breast-cancer-therapy/ The most recent healthbeat from the US Department of Health and Human Services briefly discussed the topic of survivors of childhood cancer having children. The point made is that these patients had no increased risk of having children with birth defects, though they were at higher risks for having preterm ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/hhs-healthbeat-babies-after-cancer/ Applying emerging Assisted Reproductive Techonology (ART) procedures in an Oncology setting may help cancer survivors attain their desire to have a child spared of the very cancer that they themselves battled.  Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is a prenatal screen performed prior to the initiation of pregnancy.  In this procedure, cell(s) ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/preimplantation-genetic-testing-and-oncofertility/ From the NCI Cancer bulletin (www.cancer.gov): [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Image: NCI"][/caption] NCI has launched a new Web portal that provides a single access point to information for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients aged 15 to 39. About 70,000 AYAs are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Cancer ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/adolescent-and-young-adult-cancer-portal-launched/ Tampa, FL (Oct. 9, 2009) —  Moffitt Cancer Center will celebrate the honor of being named a center of excellence by Fertile Hope from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Ted & Marty Couch Auditorium at the Vincent A. Stabile Research Building, 12902 Magnolia Drive. Fertile Hope is a national nonprofit fertility ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/fertile-hope-names-moffitt-cancer-center-a-center-of-excellence/ I recently ran across an article by Fiona Macrae written on October 29, 2009 from Mail Online entitled “No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells”. I proceeded to read this article before I read the actual scientific manuscript that it was based on; the ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/keeping-objectivity-in-science/ [caption id="attachment_590" align="alignleft" width="298" caption="Image: Celsias.com"][/caption] The Fall 2009 Oncofertility Consortium’s Virtual Grand Rounds hosted Dr. David Wildt of the Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian National Zoo for his talk entitled “Sex, Wildlife and Intensive Management”.  Joining him in giving this seminar were Dr. Nucharin Songsasen and Dr. Pierre ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/11/oncofertility-consortiums-virtual-grand-rounds-dr-david-wildt/ [caption id="attachment_585" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Image: Travis Hugget for CNN.com"][/caption] Writing for parenting.com, Erin Zammett Ruddy wrote an article1 today about her experiences of getting pregnant while being on Gleevac as a way to treat her chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Her first hand account really sums up many of the choices we've ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/10/pregnant-with-cancer-one-womans-story/ [caption id="attachment_572" align="alignleft" width="169" caption="Mouse 2-cell embryo Photo: Miranda Bernhardt"][/caption] The options available to couples facing infertility are increasing, whether or not a cancer diagnosis is involved.  Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), are becoming more and more common, and millions of healthy babies have been born with ... http://blog.oncofertility.northwestern.edu/2009/10/its-safe-right-possible-risks-of-ivf/