Cancer is a fatal disease and can have several side effects, including the risk of infertility. Dr. Meenu Vashisht Ahuja, consultant, Birla Fertility & IVF, expresses her views in one of the most prominent newspapers, Firstpost. She explains how cancer can affect the chances of having a baby through the natural process and how in today’s time, women have an opportunity to preserve their fertility.

Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation are among cancer treatments that might influence a woman’s fertility. Radiation is said to have more adverse effects than chemotherapy, depending on the location and size of the radiation field and the type of dose given. Surgery can affect fertility as it can result in the removal of the uterus or ovaries, and medications given during chemotherapy can affect older women more than younger cancer patients. Radiation is said to have more adverse effects than chemotherapy, depending on the location and size of the radiation field and the type of dose given.

According to Dr. Meenu Vashisht Ahuja, many treatments, such as egg freezing, embryo freezing, donor eggs, donor sperms, donor embryos, ovarian cortex freezing, and testicular freezing, can help preserve fertility and, therefore, improve the chances of conception.