HOW CAN CHEMOTHERAPY AFFECT A WOMAN'S FERTILITY?
Most chemotherapy (chemo) drugs can damage a woman’s eggs. This depends on the woman’s age and the types of drugs she gets.
If a woman is young, she has more eggs in the ovaries, and therefore a higher chance of getting pregnant after treatment.
Girls who had chemo before puberty or young women whose menstrual periods start back after chemo are at risk for early menopause.
Even if a woman’s periods start back after cancer treatment has stopped, her fertility is still uncertain. Usually some eggs are destroyed by cancer treatment.
It's advised to avoid getting pregnant during chemo, or the six months following, as many chemo drugs can hurt the eggs that were maturing during treatment or the developing fetus, causing birth defects or other harm.
Source: American Cancer Society
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