Because relationships are important to you

Although it might not be the first thing you think about after a cancer diagnosis, your intimate relationships and your ability to have children in the future may be affected by your cancer and cancer treatments.

Sexual health

The healthcare MDs and PNPs s at Children’s Minnesota are specially trained to help AYAs talk about sexuality before, during and after treatment. By encouraging open, confidential conversations about sexuality and sexual activity, we aim to help you feel informed and safe throughout your cancer care.

• American Cancer Society: Dating, Sex and Reproduction
• American Cancer Society: Sex and the Man with Cancer
• American Cancer Society: Sex and the Woman with Cancer 
• America Society for Clinical Oncology: Sexual Health and Cancer
• Cancer Body Change Videos

Preserving fertility

Even if having your own children is not on your mind now, it might be in the future. So, at Children’s, we place special emphasis on informing you about options for preserving fertility. Since treatment can often affect your fertility, concerns about family planning and fertility should be discussed before treatment begins.  We provide information about possible treatment effects on fertility, guide you through decisions about preserving fertility and make referrals to fertility specialists before treatment begins when possible.

We offer:

• 24/7 consultation services about fertility preservation options.
• Sperm banking for male AYAs.
• Options for regulating menstruation and preserving fertility in female AYAs.
• Dedicated pediatric and adolescent gynecologists—the only two fellowship trained in the upper Midwest.
• Referral to fertility specialists.

Learn more on the web:

• American Society for Clinical Oncology: Preserving Your Fertility Before Cancer Treatment (inforgraphic)  
• America Society for Clinical Oncology: Fertility Preservation
• National Institutes of Health, Video: Fertility Issues for AYAs with Cancer
• Fertilehope.org
• Curesearch.org

Additional resources