On Becoming a Mother After Cancer Survival: A Comprehensive Literature Review Review article

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Published: Jul 13, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24292/01.OR.122220621
Keywords:
cancer, oncology, fertility, motherhood, survivorship, review

Main Article Content

Helena Sousa
Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS.UA), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0832-0004
Sónia Castro
Breast Cancer Clinic/Psycho‐Oncology Service, Francisco Gentil Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto, Porto
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5139-0959
Maria Graça Pereira
Health & Family Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Research Center in Psychology (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7987-2562

Abstract

Problem identification: The desire for motherhood is one of the top priorities for most female young cancer survivors. The risk of infertility after cancer therapy is an important concern with several physical and emotional consequences. This comprehensive literature review aims to summarize and contextualize recent research that has been carried out on female fertility after cancer, suggesting future research and clinical directions.


Literature search: Searches included the keywords “cancer”, “female”, “adults”, and “fertility”. Studies were selected if focused on infertility issues in female cancer survivors.


Data synthesis: Eight themes were identified: the effects of anticancer treatments on fertility; fertility preservation methods; international recommendations regarding infertility risk; health professionals’ attitudes towards fertility preservation; patient’s concerns regarding the risk of infertility; patients' information needs; and the impact of the risk of infertility in patient’s quality of life.


Conclusions: Psycho-oncologists should be integrated in the oncofertility teams to assess patients’ needs before cancer treatment initiation.

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How to Cite
1.
Sousa H, Castro S, Pereira MG. On Becoming a Mother After Cancer Survival: A Comprehensive Literature Review. OncoReview [Internet]. 2021Jul.13 [cited 2024Apr.26];11(2(42):48-5. Available from: https://www.journalsmededu.pl/index.php/OncoReview/article/view/1295
Issue
Vol 11 No 2(42) (2021)
Section
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN ONCOLOGY
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Copyright: © Medical Education sp. z o.o. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.

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