"Many men – whose fertility may be at risk from cancer treatment – are not being offered the chance to store their sperm according to new research published today in the Annals of Oncology (Thursday).
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) state that any men or adolescent boys who are receiving treatment that may leave them infertile should be offered the opportunity to store their sperm.
But in a study funded by Cancer Research UK, researchers at the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust found that only half of oncologists and haematologists across the UK agreed that information on sperm banking is readily available to patients, despite national guidelines which state sperm banking should be offered.
In a survey of nearly 500 clinicians, the researchers also found that 21 per cent were unaware of any local policies on sperm banking.
And only a quarter (26 per cent) of oncologists and 38 per cent of haematologists reported that discussions about sperm banking with male cancer patients are being documented systematically, yet nearly all doctors believed it was an integral part of their role to raise this topic."
Read More: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1940004/many_male_cancer_patients_ar...
