Dubai, United Arab Emirates, -Saturday 21 March 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
With the celebration of Mother’s Day on 21st
of March, all mothers remember their journey to motherhood. While for
the 30-year-old Emirati SA, the probability to bear her own child looked
bleak after she was diagnosed with cancer. However, she did not give up
and visited several oncology centers overseas. Unfortunately, none of
her eggs were preserved and with limited time for her chemotherapy she
opted for ‘partial oophorectomy,’ for cryopreservation which reduced her
ovarian reserve significantly with the occurrence of premature
menopause. Not yielding any positive result, SA returned to her home
country to consult experts regarding other treatment options.
After search
for treatments, she contacted Fakih IVF Fertility Center, one of the
leading infertility centers in the GCC, which believes with the proper
counselling, diagnosis and treatment options, patients undergoing
chemotherapy as part of their cancer treatments also stand a chance to
conceive. In 2018, SA then visited Fakih IVF Fertility Center after
several unsuccessful attempts left her feeling dejected and she almost
lost hope about having her own baby. On application of a few natural and
stimulation cycles, Dr. Dalia Abdelwahab, Specialist Reproductive
Endocrinologist and Infertility at Fakih IVF, was able to retrieve two
eggs which were fertilized by ICSI and two embryos were transferred,
after which the journey to a successful pregnancy began.
Dr. Dalia
said, “The counselling session for any patient diagnosed with cancer is
imperative and should include disclosing all available options of
cryopreservation, before suggesting cancer treatment, rather than
simply risking fertility and let the couple suffer the consequence of
infertility and an incomplete family longing for something more.
Something or someone to solidify the family’s household.
She added:
"During the treatment process I tried to absorb the psychological state
that the patient was going through as much as possible and sought out to
make her feel comfortable, as the psychological factor has a huge
impact on the results during the process. With the presence of the
latest assistive reproductive technologies in the center, we were able
to succeed."
Chemotherapy
leads to the killing of Oocytes, hence dramatically reduce reserve,
quality of eggs, and uterus respectively. This can subsequently lead to
loss of fertility and in certain cases women have reported going into
premature or early menopause.
“I was aware
that the chemotherapy I was undergoing was extremely strong and would
severely decrease the quality of my eggs. After repeated cycles of the
treatment, I felt that I had little to lose and did not give up on my
chances at motherhood and live with the joy of a child. What made this
journey even easier was Dr. Dalia who provided me with the appropriate
consultation and put forward a variety of treatment options that work
best with a case like mine. I wish every women seeking motherhood to
make her dream come true” the patient said.
In cases
similar to SA’s the most important step is the pre-treatment
comprehensive counselling of the available options, for fertility
preservation before starting chemotherapy. The stimulation of the
ovaries should be undertaken to cryopreserved embryos/eggs, before any
significant damage to the ovaries. Post-treatment special consideration
must be taken to eliminate chances of any complications.
“The main
concern is not only to achieve a positive pregnancy, but it is much
more, we need to achieve a healthy successful pregnancy, delivery and
avoid pregnancy related complications, and that is our goal at Fakih
IVF,” Dr. Abdelwaheb said.
Fakih
IVF Fertility Center is one of the leading Infertility, Gynecology,
Obstetrics, Genetics and IVF centers in the GCC region with centers in
Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai. With several state-of-the-art technologies,
the center is continually advancing in the field of reproductive
medicine across the region.
Contacts
SAHARA Communications
Noor Abdelhafez, Account Executive, +97143298996, +971506946519
n.hafiz@saharapr.com / www.saharagcc.com
