Therapist Unlimited Blog

If it is possible radiation, treatment should not be done directly to the ovaries of women inflicted with cancer in their reproductive area since radiation has a direct effect on the fertility of that person.
This was the finding published in the recent issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation
Oncology (ASTRO).
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies.
The research conducted has shown that radiation therapy to the pelvic region can cause ovarian failure, which would result in damage that makes the uterus unable to accommodate the growth of a fetus.
Having seen the result of the study, researchers from the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, both in Boston, jointly move for the review of the impact of radiation therapy on fertility, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes among female patients and the effectiveness of ovarian transposition, or moving the ovaries out of the field of radiation, as a means of preserving fertility.

Women undergoing radiation treatment need to be careful since recent studies have shown that this type of treatment has an impact on women fertility.

Based on the study it was also shown that women who received abdominal or pelvic radiation had an increased risk of uterine dysfunction that lead to miscarriage, preterm labor, low birth weight and placental abnormalities.
The research has also shown that women who received low doses of ovarian radiation are at risk of suffering from early menopause.
Researchers were also able to discover that ovarian transposition was proven an effective method of reducing the rates of ovarian dysfunction, but even if the ovaries are outside of the field of radiation, scatter dose can cause significant damage.
This recent medical finding should serve as lesson to women to always vigilant at all times especially if they wish to undergo radiation treatment since the procedure could lead to infertility.