Cancer and Fertility Counselling
Specialist oncofertility counselling and psychotherapy for those facing fertility decisions during or after a cancer diagnosis. Support for urgent preservation decisions, fertility after treatment and the emotional weight of navigating cancer and fertility at the same time. Available online across the UK.
Book a SessionA cancer diagnosis changes everything. The fertility decisions it brings deserve dedicated support.
When cancer arrives, it brings with it a set of decisions that most people are entirely unprepared for. Among the most significant and time-pressured of these is the question of fertility. Before treatment begins, often within days or weeks of a diagnosis, a decision may need to be made about whether to preserve eggs, sperm or embryos. It is a lot to hold at once.
Cancer and fertility counselling, sometimes called oncofertility counselling, offers a space specifically for this experience. Not to speed up the decision, but to give you somewhere to think it through properly, at a human pace, even when the medical timeline does not allow for it.
Beyond the immediate preservation decision, fertility questions can resurface throughout cancer treatment and long into recovery. What did treatment do to my fertility? Can I try to conceive after this? What do I do with the eggs or embryos I preserved? These questions deserve ongoing support, not a one-off conversation at the point of diagnosis.
Sessions can be arranged at short notice for those facing urgent decisions. All sessions are online across the UK.
Book a Session“Fertility decisions made during a cancer diagnosis are among the most significant a person can face. They deserve more space than the clinical process usually allows.”
This support covers
- Urgent fertility preservation decisions before cancer treatment
- Egg, sperm and embryo freezing before chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- Emotional support during cancer treatment
- Fertility questions during and after treatment
- Decisions about preserved eggs or embryos after recovery
- Grief around reduced or lost fertility after cancer
- Pregnancy after cancer and its emotional complexity
- Long-term fertility questions following a cancer diagnosis
What cancer and fertility counselling addresses across the full journey
The emotional experience of navigating fertility alongside cancer is not contained to a single moment. It begins at diagnosis, continues through treatment and can resurface years later when fertility becomes a more immediate question. Each stage brings its own demands.
At the point of diagnosis
The immediate aftermath of a cancer diagnosis is an overwhelming time. Processing the diagnosis itself, understanding treatment options and making fertility preservation decisions all happen simultaneously, often within a very short window. Counselling offers a space to slow that process down internally, even when it cannot be slowed down medically.
- Processing a cancer diagnosis alongside urgent fertility decisions
- Understanding preservation options and what each involves emotionally
- Making decisions about egg, sperm or embryo freezing under time pressure
- Holding hope for a future family while facing an uncertain medical situation
During and after treatment
Cancer treatment affects the body in ways that can have lasting implications for fertility. The uncertainty of not knowing what treatment will do to your reproductive capacity is itself a significant source of distress. In addition, returning to fertility questions after treatment ends can bring a new wave of grief and complexity.
- Anxiety about what treatment is doing to long-term fertility
- Decisions about using preserved eggs or embryos after recovery
- Grief around reduced or lost fertility as a result of treatment
- The emotional experience of pregnancy after cancer
- Long-term questions about family building following a diagnosis
Fertility decisions made during cancer do not have to be made alone or without support. Sessions can be arranged at short notice for those facing urgent timelines before treatment begins.
Many people who go through cancer treatment find that fertility questions resurface long after the immediate crisis has passed. Whether fertility was preserved, reduced or lost, the emotional impact of what cancer did to your reproductive future is something many people carry for years without a dedicated space to address it.
Oncofertility counselling is available at any point in this journey. If you are years post-treatment and fertility questions are only now becoming more pressing, support is here for that too.
What cancer and fertility counselling can offer you
Sessions are shaped around where you are in your cancer and fertility journey. There is no fixed agenda and no expectation about what you should be feeling or deciding. The work follows your lead at whatever pace the situation allows.
For those facing urgent decisions before treatment, sessions can often be arranged within a very short timeframe. For those further along the journey, ongoing support is available for as long as it is useful.
Urgent Pre-Treatment Support
Dedicated support for those making fertility preservation decisions in the immediate aftermath of a cancer diagnosis, often under significant time pressure. Sessions available at short notice.
Fertility Preservation Decisions
A space to work through the decision to preserve eggs, sperm or embryos before cancer treatment, including what each option involves and what it means for your future.
Support During Cancer Treatment
Ongoing counselling through cancer treatment, addressing the emotional demands of treatment alongside the uncertainty of what it means for future fertility.
Fertility After Cancer Recovery
Support for those who have completed cancer treatment and are now facing fertility questions, including decisions about preserved material and what trying to conceive after cancer involves.
Grief Around Fertility Loss
Dedicated space for the grief that arises when cancer treatment has reduced or ended fertility, including the loss of a hoped-for future and the identity questions this raises.
Pregnancy After Cancer
Support for those navigating pregnancy after a cancer diagnosis or treatment, including the specific anxiety that comes with holding a pregnancy and a cancer history at the same time.
Support at every stage of the cancer and fertility journey
Cancer and fertility counselling is available at any point in your journey, from the immediate days after a diagnosis through to years post-treatment when fertility questions are still present. You do not need a referral and you do not need to wait.
This support may be right for you if:
- You have received a cancer diagnosis and are facing urgent fertility decisions
- You need to decide about fertility preservation before treatment begins
- You are currently in cancer treatment and fertility uncertainty is adding to the load
- You have completed treatment and are now facing decisions about preserved eggs or embryos
- Cancer treatment has affected your fertility and you are processing what that means
- You want to try to conceive after cancer and need support through that process
- You are pregnant after a cancer diagnosis and carrying the anxiety of both at once
- Fertility questions from a cancer diagnosis years ago are still present and unresolved
“If you have just received a diagnosis and need to speak to someone urgently, please get in touch. Sessions can be arranged at short notice.”
For partners and families: A cancer diagnosis that raises fertility questions does not only affect the individual. Partners carry their own experience of this, often without acknowledgement. Sessions are available for partners and couples as well as individuals.
Years post-treatment: Many people find that fertility questions resurface long after treatment ends. Support is available at any point, not only in the immediate period around diagnosis.
Common questions about cancer and fertility counselling
What is oncofertility counselling?
Oncofertility counselling is specialist support for people facing fertility decisions in the context of a cancer diagnosis or treatment. It addresses the emotional and psychological impact of making preservation decisions under time pressure, often at a point when everything else is already overwhelming. Sessions are available before, during and after cancer treatment.
I have just been diagnosed with cancer. Can I access fertility counselling urgently?
Yes. Please get in touch as soon as possible. Sessions can often be arranged at short notice for people facing urgent fertility decisions before cancer treatment begins. No referral is needed and you do not need to wait.
Can counselling help with fertility decisions before chemotherapy?
Yes. Fertility preservation decisions before chemotherapy or radiotherapy involve making significant choices under considerable time pressure, often in the immediate aftermath of a diagnosis. Counselling offers a space to process what is happening, think through your options and make decisions that feel right for you, without that process being consumed entirely by the urgency of the medical situation.
I finished cancer treatment years ago. Can I still access fertility counselling?
Yes, absolutely. Fertility questions often resurface long after cancer treatment ends, as life circumstances change and the question of family becomes more pressing. Support is available at any point in this journey, not only in the immediate aftermath of a diagnosis.
Can counselling help with grief around fertility loss after cancer treatment?
Yes. The grief that arises when cancer treatment has reduced or ended fertility is real and significant. It encompasses not only the immediate loss but the long-term impact on identity, relationships and the future. Dedicated counselling offers a space to work through all of this properly.
I have preserved eggs or embryos before treatment. Can counselling help me decide what to do with them?
Yes. Decisions about preserved eggs or embryos after cancer treatment are among the most emotionally significant decisions in fertility care. Counselling offers a space to work through what each option means to you, how your values and circumstances have changed since preservation, and what feels right going forward.
Is cancer and fertility counselling available online in the UK?
Yes. All sessions are online, accessible across the UK. This is particularly useful for those whose health or treatment schedule makes travel difficult, or who need to access support quickly without the added pressure of getting to a clinic.
Do I need a referral to access cancer and fertility counselling?
No referral is needed. You can get in touch and book a session at any point, entirely independently of your oncology team or fertility clinic. For urgent requests, please mention this when you get in touch.
If you need support urgently, please do not wait to get in touch
Whether you are facing a decision this week or processing something that happened years ago, support is available. Sessions can be arranged at short notice for urgent situations.
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