Original articleFertility Issues: The Perceptions and Experiences of Young Men Recently Diagnosed and Treated for Cancer
Section snippets
Method
One of the authors (MS), an anthropologist, interviewed 19 young men, previously diagnosed with cancer, who had either recovered from cancer, were in remission, or still being treated. Author (AC), a medical sociologist, interviewed two others. Eighteen young men talked about fertility issues at some length (Table 1). Almost all the interviews took place during 2004/2005.
With ethics committee approval, young people were recruited via doctors, nurses and support groups. We aimed for a maximum
Results
We identified four themes that appeared salient to the young men we interviewed; the importance of choice, the need for more counseling, concerns about sperm banking, and feelings about possible infertility.
Discussion
Schover et al [32] found that 91% of oncologists they surveyed in the United States agreed that all men at risk of infertility as a result of treatment should be offered sperm banking, but that 48% never mentioned it through lack of time, perceived expense, and lack of convenient facilities. Bahadur et al [33] found that boys as young as 12 years who produced a sample had sperm that was suitable for assisted reproductive technologies.
A survey of all 22 regional pediatric centers and all
Acknowledgments
We warmly thank all the young people who took part in the interviews, those who helped us recruit, our advisory panel, and The Wooden Spoon Foundation for funding this work. We also thank Cancer Research UK for a personal award to Sue Ziebland.
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