Fertility preservation for young lymphoma patients

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the treatment of lymphoma can also affect fertility. For many it is the last thing you want to think about when diagnosed with lymphoma, however it is important to discuss fertility with a specialist to know your options and understand the long term effects from your treatment. Donna Gairns, Lymphoma Australia’s Nurse, recently interviewed A/Prof Kate Stern, a leading Australian fertility preservation specialist at Melbourne IVF and The Women’s Hospital, who presented on what is fertility preservation and the options available for females and males. The video presentation below will hopefully help you understand what is fertility preservation and what is the right decision for you. For further information click on the “contact us” button at the bottom of the screen.
Share This

Contact Lymphoma Australia Today!

Please note: Lymphoma Australia staff are only able to reply to emails sent in English language.

For people living in Australia, we can offer a phone translation service. Have your nurse or English speaking relative call us to arrange this.

Useful Definitions

  • Refractory: This means the lymphoma does not get better with treatment. The treatment didn’t work as hoped.
  • Relapsed: This means the lymphoma came back after being gone for a while after treatment.
  • 2nd line treatment: This is the second treatment you get if the first one didn’t work (refractory) or if the lymphoma comes back (relapse).
  • 3rd line treatment: This is the third treatment you get if the second one didn’t work or the lymphoma comes back again.
  • Approved: Available in Australia and listed by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA).
  • Funded: Costs are covered for Australian citizens. This means if you have a Medicare card, you shouldn’t have to pay for the treatment.[WO7]

You need healthy T-cells to make CAR T-cells. For this reason, CAR T-cell therapy cannot be used if you have a T-cell lymphoma – yet.

For more information on CAR T-cells and T-cell lymphoma click here. 

Special Note: Although your T-cells are removed from your blood for CAR T-cell therapy, most of our T-cells live outside of our blood – in our lymph nodes, thymus, spleen and other organs.