The position statement on fertility preservation was produced through collaborative efforts among the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses, Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology/Association canadienne des infirmières en oncologie, and the Oncology Nursing Society. It was first released in 2024 on each organization’s respective website. Citations for this position statement should be attributed to all three authoring organizations. Last updated December 23, 2023.
All children and adults with cancer are eligible to receive fertility preservation consultation regardless of whether they express interest in conceiving a child or building a family. The majority of cancer survivors express distress regarding possible future infertility (Cherven et al., 2022). Attention to fertility concerns has been cited as an unmet need in 93% of adolescent and young adult survivors, and uncertainty about fertility status is common in young adult cancer survivors (Benedict et al., 2016; Wong et al., 2017). This highlights the importance of having timely, informed, and ongoing discussion about treatment-related effects on fertility from diagnosis through survivorship (Mulder et al., 2021). However, effective communication about the possibility of treatment-related infertility and available fertility preservation options does not routinely occur (Lampic & Wettergren, 2019; Ussher et al., 2018; Vesali et al., 2019), which can have significant and ongoing psychosocial implications for individuals with cancer and their families (Logan & Anazodo, 2019; Patterson et al., 2021).
Oncology nurses and advanced practice providers are a critical part of interprofessional care teams and have a shared responsibility for fertility preservation for those diagnosed with cancer. This interprofessional approach includes identifying and assessing risk, educating individuals diagnosed with cancer about their risk for infertility, confirming understanding of infertility risk as part of informed consent, and either providing referrals to specialists or offering fertility preservation services. When individuals and their families are well informed about their risk for infertility, they are then empowered to pursue fertility preservation and family building if desired. Research has demonstrated that individuals and their families prefer to be informed of any risk to fertility, including when the risk of infertility is minimal and when preservation options are unavailable (Chan et al., 2017; Oktay et al., 2018).
Oncology nurses and advanced practice providers are uniquely positioned to provide fertility preservation counseling and education to all patients, regardless of age, gender, and sexual orientation, who are receiving gonadotoxic therapies that place them at risk for treatment-related infertility. Assessment of risk is multifactorial; therefore, nurses and advanced practice providers will use evidence-based risk assessment factors that quantify risk for individuals based on pubertal status, the presence of reproductive organs, and planned treatment. With emerging treatment modalities and fertility preservation methods, families should still be informed regarding the uncertainty of risk in the context of information sharing and decision-making.
It is the position of APHON, CANO/ACIO, and ONS that:
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