Spreading the Word About Fertility Preservation
Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with and speaking to the Educational Committee of the local Susan G. Komen Foundation group.
What a thriving organization! Just a few days after their annual Race for the Cure, with participants this year numbering over 26 thousand, the women who lead Komen's educational charge gathered again in an office crowded with boxes of materials and mementos.
Lorianne Classen, a Health Education Specialist with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Komen volunteer, remarked that the meeting was particularly well-attended that evening, likely because of interest in our topic: fertility preservation.
Judging from the many raised hands with questions, including several from survivors and their loved ones, I'd say that interest in the concepts of preserving fertility for use after surviving cancer was indeed very high. Good questions. Poignant situations.
I left feeling very positive about sharing the realities of how women and men can take action to preserve their fertility before engaging in life-saving cancer treatment. I also came away seeing the need for education *now* is possibly greater than I thought.
As I emphasized to the Komen Education Committee, timing is crucial in this matter. I'll be continuing my pursuit of pre-need connections among oncology specialists and their patients -- through http://babylater.com -- so that the information about real hope for having a family isn't only wistful hindsight for cancer survivors.
For more information, visit the Houston affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
