Fertility Preservation in Young Cancer Patients - How to Meet Their Needs for Support and Counselling Best?

With the aim to improve the support of young female cancer patients who are confronted with decisions concerning fertility preservation (FP) previous to cancer treatment, in 2007 we initiated an ongoing project in collaboration with the school of psychology of Cardiff University. Based on a literature review about psychological aspects of fertility preservation, we conducted an online survey as well as focus groups with former cancer patients.

The objectives were to assess attitudes toward FP in young female cancer survivors, to measure decisional conflict associated with consideration to opt for FP and to assess specific needs of patients when making their decision and the helpfulness they attributed to various sources of support.

The online survey showed that young cancer patients’ attitude towards FP is positive, but decisional conflict is considerable. The complementary focus groups revealed additional ethical considerations and confirmed the need for comprehensive support and standardized decision-aid tools.

As a consequence the current phase of our project is dedicated to the development and evaluation of an online decision-aid tool.

After an overview on psychological aspects of FP the talk will present and discuss the findings of our research project and deliver a first insight into the tool.