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Cervical cancer is one of the most common and debilitating cancers that affect thousands of women every year. Though the success and survival rate of treatment have greatly improved, the impact of disease and treatment on fertility is a serious concern. Add to that around 40% of cervical cancers occur during reproductive age, making this concern even more worrisome.
But not anymore! With improvements in egg/embryo freezing, ovarian transport, and uterus preservation techniques, we can preserve fertility. This guide will discuss these options in brief and help you make the right decision.
These minimally invasive procedures are done in early-stage cervical cancer where cancerous cells are confined to a smaller area of the cervix (2 cm or less in size).
This procedure is done to keep the critical reproductive parts intact. These include the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. During the procedure, you will receive general anaesthesia. There are two steps in this procedure. The first step includes the removal of lymph nodes in the pelvic region. The second step includes removing the cervix and resuturing the uterus with vagina.
Also known as a cone biopsy, it is usually done after an abnormal Pap test and under general anaesthesia. During the procedure, a doctor uses a colposcope and scalpel to see inside the vagina and cervix and remove a cone-shaped wedge of abnormal tissues and some surrounding healthy cells from the cervix. Conization is performed in preinvasive lesions of the cervix.
Both processes start in the same basic way and give an option to women suffering from cervical cancer to plan pregnancy in future.
An egg is the female reproductive cell or gamete. A female is born with millions of eggs but only 500 eggs reach maturity. As they age, these eggs also age. By the time women reach 30, the likelihood of having healthy eggs becomes less. Healthy eggs are important for getting pregnant. Not all eggs are capable of leading to a pregnancy.
Thus, preserving eggs at a young age or when diagnosed with cervical cancer can give a chance to plan pregnancy anytime in future. You’ll receive hormone medication 8-12 days before the extraction of eggs. This medication stimulates the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Preserving multiple eggs can help the doctor find a healthy one later.
For egg extraction, the doctor generally uses a minimally invasive procedure guided by ultrasound to extract the follicular fluid containing eggs from the ovaries. After identifying matured eggs, the eggs are preserved in liquid nitrogen to keep them cool and pause their ageing.
Later when you want pregnancy, the eggs can be fertilized with a sperm to create an embryo using the IVF (In-vitro fertilization) technique.
This process is usually recommended to young females who have not found a suitable male partner at the time of freezing.
This is almost like egg freezing. But instead of freezing the eggs, the embryo is frozen. Keeping the embryo at such a low temperature maintains its health. Later, this embryo can be placed in the patient’s uterus when she gets treated and wants pregnancy.
If the patient is not healthy enough to carry the pregnancy, this embryo can be placed in another suitable female’s uterus to have a baby. Embryo freezing is advised for females who have found a suitable male partner at the time of freezing.
Ovarian transportation involves repositioning the ovaries and fallopian tubes away from the radiation area to avoid any harm to them. It is done laparoscopically, allowing the patient to get back to normal life and start radiation for cancer treatment quickly.
As fertility-preserving techniques have improved, the chances of having a pregnancy in future for women suffering from cervical cancer have also improved. You can consult our experts to know how these approaches can help you and how you can beat cancer.
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