A survey of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) reveals that access to vital fertility services is patchy for cancer patients across the country. Providing the first national picture of fertility services for people with cancer, the survey by Cancerbackup reveals that in many areas the NICE clinical guideline is not being implemented on fertility services for cancer patients.
From the PCTs that responded, the Eastern England region was shown to provide the best level of service, whereas many of the PCTs that responded in the South West, worryingly did not commission a lot of the services recommended in the NICE guideline.
Many patients also told Cancerbackup that their health professional had not discussed the effects cancer treatment might have on their fertility.
Joanne Rule, Cancerbackup chief executive, commented: “This survey shows that some PCTs are denying patients the option to preserve their fertility. All cancer patients should be informed of the potential impact of cancer treatment on their fertility before treatment starts and in cases where it is clinically appropriate they should be given access to fertility services, regardless of where they live.”
