Fertility preservation in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors

Summary Despite known effects of infertility on later life, adolescents and young adults remain vulnerable to poor fertility care during cancer treatment and little is known about family participation in decision-making. The proposed project is a thematic analysis of free-text answers to survey questions from a national Australian cross-sectional study of young people with cancer.

Project Details

International guidelines recommend that pre-treatment fertility counseling and access to fertility preservation are provided to all people with cancer of reproductive age. Yet, despite the effects of infertility on later quality of life, adolescents and young adults remain vulnerable to inadequate oncofertility care and little is known about family participation in decision-making. In a national representative Australian cross-sectional study, survivors of cancer diagnosed between ages 15 and 25 were surveyed regarding fertility preservation experiences and decision-making, and had the opportunity to write free-text short answers to open-ended questions. The proposed project is a thematic analysis of these free-text responses. The student will therefore have the advantage of access to an existing data set which can be analysed at home. The student will be trained in qualitative methods, and have access to a team conducting qualitative and quantitative clinical research in cancer survivorship, chronic disease and adolescent and women’s health. They will have opportunities to meet collaborating researchers at VCCC, MCRI, and other major research hubs.