Parenthood After Cancer
Giving hope to young cancer patients

By Lindsay Nohr
Founder and Executive Director of Fertile Hope

As a two-time tongue cancer survivor by the age of 24, I experienced a profound void in the care for young cancer patients when it came to issues of infertility.

My treatment regime included radiation, surgery and chemotherapy with an agent that meant a risk of permanent infertility and premature ovarian failure. But, information on these risks was not available.

After uncovering my risks and desperately searching for a way to preserve my fertility, I found a center with an experimental egg-freezing protocol for cancer patients. Two weeks later, I had 29 eggs stored for future use before starting my cancer treatments.

My experience prompted me to found Fertile Hope as the solution to bridging the gap between oncology and reproductive endocrinology.

Fertile Hope is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing reproductive information, support and hope to cancer patients whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility.

Approximately 10 percent of the 9.6 million cancer survivors in the United States today were diagnosed in their reproductive years and are potentially at risk for permanent sterility from their treatments. Moreover, every year there are more than 120,000 new cancer patients diagnosed during their reproductive years.

Up to 90 percent of these young men and women may be at risk of permanent infertility due to treatments, yet less than 10 percent of oncologists inform them about fertility risks and preservation options. These numbers have to change so that survivors have no limits on life after cancer.

Fertile Hope has been overwhelmingly successful, developing and distributing thousands of free educational brochures, answering thousands of phone calls and e-mails and presenting at countless symposiums.
A few of our resources include:

Cancer & Fertility Brochure

Produced in partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), this brochure offers a comprehensive overview of definitions, risks, treatment options, sample questions to ask your medical team and current research on the safety of pregnancy after breast cancer. This brochure is a key tool in empowering patients with the information they need to make educated decisions.

Breast Cancer & Fertility Booklet

Produced in partnership with the LAF and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, this booklet is the first of its kind, addressing the unique reproductive questions of breast cancer patients, especially considering breast cancer tumors can be hormone sensitive.

Resource Guide

Thanks to numerous supporters, Fertile Hope recently launched a Resource Guide to help healthcare professionals, patients and survivors locate fertility experts, adoption and surrogacy agencies, mental health professionals and others who can help cancer survivors become parents.

Pediatric and Young Adult Cancers & Fertility

In partnership with the LAF, Planet Cancer and individual donors, Fertile Hope will launch two new brochures to answer fertility questions surrounding the reproductive effects of cancer treatments on children and young adults.

Fertile Hope’s website offers a tool that outlines the possible effects to the reproductive system from chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. It also provides an overview of fertility preservation and parenthood options before, during and after cancer treatments, allowing you to compare options by age, time required, average success rates and cost.

Fertile Hope is also developing a financial assistance program to help defray the cost of fertility preservation, building a model to help advance research and fundraising for a patient-to-patient support program.

Recently engaged and excited about life with my husband-to-be, we are both grateful to have family-building options.

For more information, to make a donation or to learn how you can participate, please visit www.fertilehope.org or call 888-994-HOPE.