http://www.cosbeauty.com.au 117DON’T BE AFRAID TO
ASK QUESTIONS
For many women, the situation is
daunting enough, so important questions
can frequently be forgotten. Also, there
are some doctors who aren’t well-
versed in the fertility issues surrounding
cancer treatments, or who may see the
importance lies in treating the disease
first and foremost. The lesson here is,
‘there are no silly questions’, so ask
everything and anything!
Naturally, cancer is a scary prospect for
any woman to face, says Krystal Barter,
founder and CEO of Pink Hope. ‘For
those who develop cancer at a young
age or carry a genetic predisposition, it
is often doubly scary,’ she says. ‘You are
dealing with your own health, difficult
decisions and are often confronted with
the very real likelihood that the decisions
you make will affect your ability to have
children in the future. All this at an age
where having children mightn’t even be
on the radar.
‘Taking preventative measures often
means that high-risk women can live
cancer free and go on to have happy,
healthy pregnancies,’ says Krystal.
‘However, for many women in the Pink
Hope community impacted by a high-
risk mutation or carrying a BRCA gene,
cancer can strike at a young age and
aggressively, leaving you little time to
make the necessary decisions about future
family plans.
‘Women and their partners need more
information and better consultation
with their doctor around their fertility
before considering preventative measures
and, most importantly, women with
cancer need to be given urgent fertility
preservation opportunities,’ she says.WHAT ARE YOUR
OPTIONS?
For the majority of women facing
a cancer diagnosis and subsequent
treatment, hope for a family is tangible,
especially if they are of fertile age, stresses
Dr Raewyn Teirney, Australia’s leading
fertility specialist and gynaecologist.
‘Couples, and indeed single women,
should know that all is not lost,’ says DrJess and Travers on their wedding day with their ‘groomsdog’ Ari.