Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients – World Cancer Day 2025
Among the many challenges of cancer, one of the most heart-wrenching is the potential loss of fertility. Cancer itself, or its treatment, can lead to temporary or permanent infertility. However, at Cape Fertility, you can access advanced treatments that can save or protect eggs, sperm and reproductive tissue, preserving the ability to have your own biological children in the future.
#WorldCancerDay, led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) since its establishment in 2000, raises awareness of cancer and encourages its prevention, detection, and treatment.
A people-centered approach to cancer care
For #WorldCancerDay 2025 https://www.worldcancerday.org/, the global theme #UnitedByUnique emphasises the human stories behind every cancer diagnosis and acknowledges the deeply personal impact of a cancer diagnosis. It places people at the centre of care, explores new ways of making a difference and focuses on centring care around the individual.
As the World Cancer Day 2025 team says: “Cancer is more than just a medical diagnosis—it’s a deeply personal matter. Behind every diagnosis lies a unique human story – stories of grief, pain, healing, resilience, love and more.”
That’s why a people-centred approach to cancer care that fully integrates each individual’s unique needs, with compassion and empathy, leads to the best health outcomes.
This hold particularly true for those cancer patients who still want to have a family but also face the possible loss of their fertility as a result of the cancer or its treatment.
Cancer’s impact on fertility
In some cases, the cancer itself can impact on a person’s fertility.
In women, cancers with a higher risk of affecting fertility include breast, uterine, cervical, ovarian, and thyroid, and blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
In men cancers with a higher risk of affecting fertility include testicular, prostate and bladder cancer.
Sadly, even other types of cancer – and particularly the treatment thereof – can result in people losing their fertility, either temporarily during cancer treatment or permanently.
Whether this happens depends on the patient’s age, stage in life, type of cancer, type and dose of treatment, and other health problems that may exist.
Cancer treatments that can disrupt fertility:
• In women: Cancer surgeries may involve the removal of reproductive organs. Chemotherapy and radiation can damage eggs or lead to early menopause.
• In men: Treatments like surgery or radiation can result in DNA-damaged sperm or the removal of reproductive organs.
Act fast! Don’t delay
This #WorldCancerDay, our team of fertility specialists at Cape Fertility would like to help those facing cancer with some pertinent advice about preserving their fertility, and we assure them of priority treatment.
This is because we understand how critical it is to act swiftly to explore fertility preservation options to protect your fertility before starting cancer treatment. Consult a fertility specialist as soon as possible after a diagnoses to ensure you have access to the full range of preservation options.
Early detection and preserving fertility before cancer treatments begin can provide patients with hope for a full life after cancer.
Preserving fertility at Cape Fertility: options for men and women
At Cape Fertility, we are committed to helping patients safeguard their future family-building dreams. Our state-of-the-art facility in Cape Town offers several fertility preservation techniques:
Freezing Options
1. Egg Freezing: Women can opt to freeze their eggs without fertilising them, offering flexibility for future family planning.
2. Sperm Freezing: Men can provide semen samples, which are carefully processed and stored for later use in fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
3. Embryo Cryopreservation: During this process, a woman’s mature eggs are collected and fertilised in a lab using sperm from a partner or donor. The embryos are then frozen for future use.
Advanced Techniques
• Radiation Shielding: For men undergoing pelvic radiation, shielding techniques protect the testes from radiation scatter.
• Ovarian Tissue Freezing: A portion of ovarian tissue is removed, frozen, and later re-implanted to restore fertility.
• Ovarian Transposition: In this procedure, the ovaries are surgically moved out of the radiation zone.
Fertility-Sparing Surgery
In cases of early-stage cancer, certain surgical approaches can preserve fertility:
• Women with early cervical cancer may undergo procedures that remove the cervix while leaving the uterus intact.
• For early-stage ovarian cancer, only the affected ovary may be removed, preserving the other ovary and the uterus.
• Progesterone therapy can be used in place of a hysterectomy for early-stage uterine cancer, allowing younger women to retain their fertility.
Cape Fertility: Personalized Care, Exceptional Outcomes
At Cape Fertility, we understand that cancer treatment is more than just a medical journey—it’s deeply personal.
Our compassionate team offers individualised care to help cancer patients navigate this challenging time. With cutting-edge technology and expert guidance, we empower cancer patients to preserve their ability to create a family.
If you or a loved one are facing cancer and want to explore fertility preservation, reach out to our team of fertility specialists at Cape Fertility. Arranging your initial consultation is as simple as contacting us here…
Together, we can help protect your dreams of parenthood.
At Cape Fertility, we value each individual patient and we look forward to providing you with individualised and personalised care, affordable quality fertility treatment, and higher success rates at our purpose-built premises in the beautiful city of Cape Town.