Parenthood options after cancer treatment

Once your treatment is completed you have many fertility and parenthood options available to you.

Natural pregnancy

You can try to have a child if your ovaries begin to work again after treatment. This depends on your age. If you are over the age of 35, you may find it harder to get pregnant naturally.

Using frozen embryos and eggs

You can thaw your embryos or eggs (after fertilizing with sperm to create embryos) you froze before treatment. You can either put them into your womb, your partner's womb or into a surrogate.

In vitro fertilization

If you still have high quality eggs remaining after treatment you can complete egg and/or embryo freezing after treatment. The number of eggs that are collected may be lower than the number that could have been collected before treatment resulting in a lower chance of having a child.

Egg or embryo donor

You can consider having a child with an egg or embryo donor. A donor is a person who donates healthy eggs if you do not have enough working eggs after treatment. For more information, visit the Government of Canada: www.healthycanadians.gc.ca and search for “egg donors” and “embryo donors”

Surrogacy

You can consider having a child with a surrogate. A surrogate is someone who carries your child for you. You can use a surrogate with your own eggs or donor eggs. For more information, visit Health Canada: www.hc-sc.gc.ca and search for “surrogates”

Adoption

You can explore adopting a child. It can sometimes be a challenging process that takes time and may be costly if you adopt privately. The adoption process and criteria varies for each province in Canada. For more information, visit the Adoption Council of Canada: www.adoption.ca or your local Children's Aid Society.

FAQs

How long after my cancer treatment do I have to wait before getting pregnant?: There is no right answer for everyone. Talk to your oncologist about your specific situation including your age, treatments, and the chance of your cancer coming back. Your oncologist may recommend that you wait several years after treatment before trying to get pregnant. The number of years will vary based on your situation.

If I become pregnant, does it increase the risk of my cancer returning?: Research has shown that becoming pregnant after your cancer diagnosis does not increase your risk of cancer returning or the outcome of your cancer.

If I have a child after my cancer treatment, will my child be healthy?: In general, children born to cancer survivors are as healthy as children born to people without cancer. But if you have a BRCA 1 or 2 gene mutation you may pass this gene mutation to your children. Talk with your healthcare team or ask for a referral to a genetic counsellor for more information.