Future Fertility- A Case For Funding

By Yemi Adesanya-Famuyiwa, MD

Montgomery Fertility Center

. http://montgomeryfertilitycenter.com/

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Future Fertility- A Case For Funding

Cancer diagnosis and future fertility.

A cancer diagnosis is arguably one of the most devastating things that can happen in the person’s life. It causes an incredible amount of stress both emotionally, physically, and financially.

What’s even more devastating is to have this diagnosis made in one’s twenties right after their marriage. The diagnosis of cancer and its subsequent treatment can impact future fertility. This leads to another devastating problem to process at that time-impending future infertility. Infertility has been likened to loss of a loved one. In this case, the loss is of a loved one that has yet to be born. The loss felt is no different than if a live born child had passed away.

The combined pain of a new onset cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment with the potential for future infertility is doubly devastating.

The unfortunate conundrum is that many young cancer patients are now left to financially bear the cost of medical care as well as the cost of fertility preservation. While there are resources sometimes for medical treatment, most resources do not factor in the fact that patients will need multiple doctors’ visits, will need copayments and deductibles met, will need to purchase medications, and pay for transportation to and from care centers. All these factors combined also impacts their ability to work during the time of such treatment. This doubly impacts their financial status because they cannot also work and earn money during such a time.

Fertility Preservation

Added to this problem is the need for fertility preservation. The unfortunate fact is that most insurance plans do not cover fertility preservation treatment. Depending on the resources of the patient and their socio economic status, if they are even on Medicaid, they will find that Medicaid has no fundings whatsoever for fertility treatment or preservation. Most additional charitable organizations set up to support fertility do not include fertility preservation for cancer patients.

Herein lies the problem. Where are such patients to turn to for help? Fertility clinics can subsidize some of this treatment, unfortunately there are limiting factors such as payments for independent anesthesia services, payments for medications (which price continues to rise by the day), and payment for FDA required donor screening if those patients choose to freeze their eggs or sperm not knowing if they will need a surrogate in the future. It is almost like a double penalty imposed by the current regulations to have the additional cost of the FDA screening that is uncompensated and unfunded.

I ask therefore where should such patients turn to if traditional charitable fertility organizations will not even cover them?

Previously published on medium.com