Abstract
Purpose of Review
In this Perspective we share the personal story of a 33-year-old patient diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and her journey through fertility preservation, surrogacy, and eventually motherhood, highlighting misconceptions about fertility preservation in this population.
Recent Findings
There are nearly 1 million women under the age of 50 diagnosed and living with cancer in the USA. These patients are met with life-altering decisions, including those that may limit their reproductive ability. While there have been tremendous advances and advocacy in the field of oncofertility, there has been limited focus on patients with advanced stage or metastatic cancer.
Summary
We describe five key misconceptions surrounding fertility preservation in patients with advanced stage cancer, offering a review of the literature and our approach to challenging topics like desiring fertility preservation in the face of Stage 4 disease, the safety and timing of ovarian stimulation during cancer treatment, and passing away following fertility preservation. We review the importance of assessing perceptions of fertility preservation in patients with metastatic cancer and highlight the lack of research in this area as a call to action.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to reasons of sensitivity and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
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M.K.A., A.W., and M.P.R. wrote the main manuscript text and prepared the figures and tables. J.M.L, M.E.E., and M.I.C. provided commentary to the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Abel, M.K., Wang, A., Letourneau, J.M. et al. Changing the Perspective on Fertility Preservation for Women with Metastatic or Advanced Stage Cancer. Curr Oncol Rep (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-024-01530-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-024-01530-9