Receiving a cancer diagnosis at any age is excruciating, but for young men and women in their 20s, 30s, and younger there are additional concerns that need to be addressed fairly quickly as some effective cancer treatments can permanently damage fertility. The additional stress and costs leave many patients with a very difficult choice: pay for cancer treatment or risk losing the ability to have a baby in the future.
To address this issue, last week the Maryland House of Delegates heard testimony about a bill that would require insurance companies to cover sperm and egg freezing for these young people with cancer, and our very own Drs. Gilbert Mottla, from the Shady Grove Fertility Annapolis office, and Stephanie Beall, from the SGF Columbia, and Towson offices, testified on behalf of cancer patients.
What is oncofertility?
Oncofertility bridges medical experts who diagnose and treat cancer, called oncologists, with medical experts who assist individuals and couples with reproduction, called reproductive endocrinologists, in order to create future family building options prior to cancer treatment. For many oncofertility patients, this involves a male who is diagnosed with cancer freezing his sperm and a female diagnosed with cancer freezing her eggs prior to cancer treatment.
Why freeze prior to cancer treatment?
Some chemotherapy and radiation treatments used to eradicate certain cancers also have the potential to permanently damage both male and female fertility.
SGF Physicians Take Action
Over the last 25 years, Shady Grove Fertility’s physicians and staff have continued to be motivated advocates for a variety of legislation, both on the state and federal level, which would ease the cost burden and increase access to fertility treatment. Recently representing Shady Grove Fertility at the Maryland House of Delegates was Gilbert L. Mottla, M.D., from our Annapolis and Rockville, MD offices. In his prepared testimony, Dr. Mottla told the delegates, “Research has shown that a powerful motivator enabling these young individuals to fight their disease has been the promise of motherhood and fatherhood, only made possible by egg and sperm freezing, performed before their chemotherapy or surgery.”
Shady Grove Fertility Will Continue to Advocate for Sperm and Egg Freezing Coverage prior to Cancer Treatment
While the proposed mandate did not pass during this legislative session, Shady Grove Fertility and our partners RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, together with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, will continue to advocate and raise awareness about oncofertility, a topic that remains very much in the shadows.
Your Story Matters
One important way we work to raise awareness is by helping our patients tell their stories. Most recently, Self profiled two SGF patients: a young college student in Virginia who is grateful for the peace of mind she received by proactively freezing her eggs before cancer treatment, and a woman in Pennsylvania who was able to return to Shady Grove Fertility after treatment and use the frozen embryos created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) prior to her cancer treatment. She and her husband are now the proud parents of twins—a boy and a girl.
While oncologists move swiftly to initiate a cancer treatment protocol, it is essential that young women and men during their reproductive years, or even younger, explore the option to freeze their eggs or sperm first, before cancer treatment begins. Shady Grove Fertility’s physicians are well versed with working closely and quickly with oncologists to expedite the fertility preservation process, so as not to delay cancer treatment. If you would like to schedule an appointment, call 1-877-971-7755 to schedule an appointment or complete this simple form online.
