Psychosocial Impact of Cancer-Related Female Infertility

The success of cancer treatment combined with the trend to delay childbearing is increasing the numbers of women survivors whose childbearing has been interrupted by cancer. For some, treatment has resulted in infertility. Others have been advised to delay pregnancy until a certain follow-up interval or have new fears that pregnancy could be a risk to maternal health. Not least is the concern that children born after a mother's cancer would face increased risks for birth defects or cancer. The specific aims of this project are as follows: 1. To measure the impact of cancer-related interruption of childbearing on women's long-term emotional well-being and health-related quality of life, over and above other demographic and cancer-related factors 2. To find out if becoming a biological or social mother after cancer treatment decreases the long-term psychosocial impact of interrupted childbearing compared to remaining childless 3. To refine the psychometric properties of questionnaires for female cancer survivors measuring Distress about Cancer-Related Childbearing Issues and Attitudes towards Parenthood after Cancer 4. To define targets for a future intervention to improve female survivors' knowledge about childbearing after cancer, decrease distress associated with interrupted childbearing, and promote peer support.

Sex

Female

Minimum age

14 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Women must be survivors of breast cancer, cervical cancer, Hodgkin's Disease, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (We have chosen these three sites because they are the most common malignancies in women of reproductive age that have reasonable rates of long-term survival. In addition, many of the standard treatments for these malignancies impair fertility.)
2. Women must have been diagnosed before the age of 41, i.e., of childbearing age at the time of diagnosis and/or beyond.
3. Women must be at least age 14 currently to participate, because of the concern that younger girls may not be emotionally mature enough to have considered the emotional aspects of infertility, and may also not have full knowledge about reproduction.
4. Women must must have been diagnosed between the years of 1993-1998, making them, roughly 5- to 10-year survivors.
5. We are not going to exclude women based on cancer stage or treatment status, as long as they have survived for 5 to 10 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

1\. Women's fluency in English must be adequate to complete the interview (approximately 6th grade level).