Infertility Education: Experiences and Preferences of Childhood Cancer Survivors

The majority of children diagnosed with cancer will become long-term survivors; however, many will suffer late effects of treatment, including infertility. Educating patients about potential risk for infertility is important, yet little is known regarding when patients would like to hear this information. The purpose of this study was to assess young adult survivors' previous experience in receiving education about their risk for infertility and determine their preferences for infertility education at various time points during and after treatment. Only 36% of survivors report receiving education about risk for infertility at diagnosis, 39% at end of therapy, and 72% in long-term follow-up/survivor clinic visits. Survivors consistently identified their oncologist as a preferred educator at each time point. Although almost all participants identified wanting education at diagnosis, this time point alone may not be sufficient. End of therapy and survivorship may be times this message should be repeated and adapted for the survivor's needs and developmental stage: conversations about the impact of cancer treatment on future fertility should be ongoing.