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Decision-making about fertility preservation—qualitative data on young cancer patients’ attitudes and needs

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to get deeper insight into the significance of fertility in cancer patients, their attitude towards fertility preservation (FP), decisional conflicts, and patient’s needs in the decision-making process. Focus groups with 12 female cancer survivors were held and revealed that the significance of fertility was high and attitude towards FP positive. Religious and ethical reservations were not negligible. Standardized decision aids were considered helpful. More support is highly in demand and specific tools would be beneficial.

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Correspondence to Verena Ehrbar.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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The study was approved by the ethics committee Basel (EKBB) and has therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All participants gave their informed consent prior to participation in the study.

Additional information

Verena Ehrbar and Corinne Urech contributed equally to this work as first authors.

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Ehrbar, V., Urech, C., Alder, J. et al. Decision-making about fertility preservation—qualitative data on young cancer patients’ attitudes and needs. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 695–699 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0604-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0604-x

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