The Joint Annual Scientific Meetings of the Endocrine Society of Australia and the Society for Reproductive Biology 2018

For young women, a diagnosis of breast cancer brings additional trauma regarding the risk of infertility and implications for having a family.

Provided the diagnosis is associated with a good prognosis, these young women should expect to be able to safely have children after completion of their treatment, without an adverse impact on prognosis

Therefore all patients in the reproductive age should be counselled about:

1. The risk to fertility from the cancer treatment and associated delay before being able to conceive
2. The implications of having a genetic risk for, or a genetic diagnosis of,  breast cancer, where relevant, and the options available
3. The options available for both fertility preservation and ovarian protection prior to treatment
4. The options available for having a baby safely after treatment

Close collaboration between oncology and reproductive medicine teams allows optimal and timely referral and opportunities for discussion, treatment and follow up.