Fertility preservation for cervical cancer

Treatment options for patients who are pregnant or hope to become pregnant after a cervical cancer diagnosis.

The Fertility Preservation Program at the Henry Ford Center for Reproductive Medicine is dedicated to helping you maintain the ability to conceive children when faced with a cervical cancer diagnosis that may impact your future fertility. 

Fertility consultations are available within 24 hours.

Fertility preservation treatment options for cervical cancer

We offer several options to help preserve your fertility if you are concerned about getting pregnant after cervical cancer treatment.  Some of these options are experimental and may be appropriate only for women at certain stages of cervical cancer. 

• Ovarian transposition involves protecting the ovaries by moving one or both of them away from the area where radiation treatment will be given. The ovaries may be moved behind the uterus or even onto a woman’s thighs.
• Radical trachelectomy involves preserving the uterus while removing the cervix. Because the cervix is the lowest part of the uterus, maintaining a pregnancy may be difficult. 
• Freezing unfertilized eggs involves taking hormones to develop follicles and eggs, then removing the eggs from the ovaries, and freezing the unfertilized eggs. 
• Freezing embryos involves removing eggs from the ovaries, fertilizing the eggs, and then freezing them for implantation later. 
• Freezing ovarian tissue involves removing and freezing one ovary and small pieces of ovarian tissue to preserve eggs.
• Hormonal treatment involves taking birth control bills or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone to reduce damage from chemotherapy.
• Radiation shielding involves protecting reproductive organs to reduce the amount of radiation they receive.

We recommend that all patients check their medical insurance’s fertility preservation coverage prior to their first appointment with our Reproductive Medicine team to better understand their options.  Most IVF (in-vitro fertilization) procedures, including freezing eggs or embryos, are not covered by insurance.