Reproductive Health Issues in Women With Cancer

Abstract

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 679,000 women are newly diagnosed with cancer in the United States annually, and approximately 10% of these cancers occur in women of reproductive age, with 1 per 1,000 in pregnant women.1–3 To achieve the primary objective of cancer treatment—survival—reproductive health issues including fertility conservation, contraception, and pregnancy are often overlooked. However, these challenging issues are critical to providing a complete continuum of care for women with cancer. Although a growing body of literature addresses the issue of fertility preservation for reproductive-aged women with cancer, very little pertains to the other facets of reproductive health. In this article, we describe six cases that illustrate some of the challenges of caring for reproductive-aged cancer patients who become pregnant, desire child bearing, or desire effective contraception.