Preserving fertility among young cancer patients

Oncofertility-Woodruff-440x124
19 Feb 2015 13:13:29.060

PA27/15

A pioneering American expert in obstetrics and fertility in cancer patients is to give a public lecture at The University of Nottingham, as well as London and Edinburgh as part of the ‘Sex in 3 Cities’ series run by the Society for Reproduction and Fertility. 

Survival rates among young cancer patients have steadily increased over the past four decades in part because of the development of more effective cancer treatments. Today, both women and men can look forward to life after cancer, yet many may face the possibility of infertility as a result of the disease itself or these lifesaving treatments. 

Oncofertility was just an idea 10 years ago but today it is a distinct field of medicine, offering new hope to cancer patients who will survive their disease, with options for preserving their fertility that previous generations lacked. This is an amazing shift for medical practice, with reproductive specialists and oncologists working together to make fertility after cancer a priority at the time of diagnosis. 

Click here for full story

Resulting interventions include banking eggs, sperm, embryos, or tissue, with the goal of preserving the option for patients to have a future family. For some cancer survivors, that future is now, and they are the proud parent of a child they thought they might not be able to have.  

Dr Teresa Woodruff from Northwestern University in Chicago, USA, is an internationally recognised expert in ovarian biology, and coined the term ‘oncofertility’ to describe the merging of two medical fields: oncology and fertility. She was named in the Time Magazine list of the World’s Most Influential People in 2013 and was the only scientist on the list. 

The title of Dr Woodruff’s talk is ‘Fertility preservation for young cancer patients’.

The free lectures are open to the general public, staff and students and places can be booked online. 

The lecture is taking place in London and Edinburgh as well as Nottingham on the following dates:

23rd February 2015, 17:00 at the Royal Veterinary College, London Register here

25th February 2015, 15:30 at the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh Register here

27th February 2015, 18:00 at the University of Nottingham (Sutton Bonington Campus) Register here

 

— Ends —

Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our Media Hub, which offers a Globelynx fixed camera and ISDN line facilities at University Park campus. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.

For up to the minute media alerts, follow us on Twitter

Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers, in the top 10 for student experience according to the Times Higher Education and winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the THE Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top one per cent of universities by the QS World University Rankings, and 8th in the UK by research power according to REF 2014.

The University of Nottingham in Malaysia (UNMC) is holding events throughout 2015 to celebrate 15 years as a pioneer of transnational education. Based in Semenyih, UMNC was established as the UK's first overseas campus in Malaysia and one of the first world-wide.

Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…


Story credits

More information is available from Dr Katie Woad, Lecturer in Reproductive Physiology, The University of Nottingham on +44 (0)115 951 6554, email Katie.woad@nottingham.ac.uk 

Additional resources

No additional resources for this article

Media Relations - External Relations

The University of Nottingham
YANG Fujia Building
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham, NG8 1BB

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5798
email: pressoffice@nottingham.ac.uk