Fertility counseling and preservation are two services that Clearview Cancer Institute (CCI) provides its patients. According to Cleo Valdez, CRNP at Clearview Cancer Institute, this essentially means preserving a female’s eggs or a male’s sperm to be used down the road for a process like in vitro fertilization, or IVF. This assists patients if they are no longer able to conceive children naturally.
“At CCI, we see a lot of oncologic patients and those patients may or may not need chemotherapy during their cancer journey. For our young adult and adolescent population, that can sometimes mean irreversible and permanent damage to either their eggs or their sperm,” said Valdez.
Valdez also shared that Clearview Cancer Institute has developed an automated process to recognize patients that are of child-bearing age so that these patients are identified before they enter the clinic for their first visit.
Once these previously identified patients are in the facility, providers begin initiating conversations with the medical team to decide whether or not chemotherapy should be a part of this patient’s treatment process.
Conversations regarding fertility preservation can occur on the very first visit and be included with discussion about diagnoses and overall treatment plans. Clearview Cancer Institute will also expedite referrals to a reproductive endocrinologist when it’s appropriate on a patient-to-patient basis.
Valdez said CCI’s journey within their onco-fertility program has grown recently, as they have worked to improve the services and the proactive nature of these conversations based on feedback from patients.
“We received some feedback from young adults who felt like we did not always discuss fertility preservation upfront,” said Valdez. “When we went back and really delved into our data, we found that we weren’t really doing a good job of documenting that and proving that we were having those conversations with patients. So we really wanted to focus on that and see how we could improve that with our patients.”
Since revamping the fertility counseling and preservation program, CCI has seen a 200% increase in referrals to further the conversation about fertility preservation with patients in the young adult and adolescent age range.
By investing in and growing this program, Valdez is confident that CCI will continue to make an impact in the lives of oncologic patients that are concerned about their fertility journey. For more information regarding fertility counseling and your cancer journey, please contact your care team at Clearview Cancer Institute.
