A pilot study about female adolescent/young childhood cancer survivors' knowledge about reproductive health and their views about consultation with a fertility specialist

Abstract

AbstractObjective:Impaired fertility and reproductive health after cancer treatment is an important quality-of-life issue among female childhood cancer survivors (CCSs). This study aims to measure female CCSs' knowledge about their reproductive health and their exposure to and views about reproductive counseling (RC).Method:This is a cross-sectional, web-survey study of female CCSs aged 18 to 45 years who were diagnosed with cancer before age 21 years and currently had no evidence of disease.Results:Fifty-six CCSs participated (response rate = 48%; mean current age = 26). Knowledge about reproductive health after cancer treatment was severely limited within this sample of highly educated survivors (91% educated beyond high school), who provided correct answers only 32% of the time. Only 9 and 5% of the women had pursued RC with a fertility specialist before and after cancer treatment, respectively. The majority thought they had not been provided enough information about reproductive health. White ethnicity (p < 0.001), higher annual income (p = 0.007), and higher education level (p = 0.02) were significantly associated with a positive opinion about RC.Significance of Results:A limited number of CCSs took advantage of RC in spite of their high interest in and limited knowledge about reproductive issues. Targeted referrals for RC may allow for improved decision making about reproductive options.