Although cancer treatment is known to hamper a patient’s fertility, most physicians are not familiar with the risks and options to preserve it. Well, the following discovery can possibly benefit such doctors. Scientists from the Northwestern University have unveiled an iPhone app that provides oncologists a quick reference guide for preserving the fertility of children, women and men diagnosed with cancer.
This app was created along with a website by the Oncofertility Consortium of Northwestern University. Scientists share that physicians can e-mail a fact sheet in English or Spanish to a patient. Apart from this iPhone app, 20,000 pocket guides on fertility preservation are mailed to healthcare providers.
“Deciding how to best protect an adult’s or child’s fertility should be part of every physician’s discussion with a newly diagnosed cancer patient. We created the app and SaveMyFertility to help patients and their physicians have this vitally important discussion and make much more informed decisions about fertility preservation,†explained Teresa Woodruff, director and founder of the Northwestern Oncofertility Consortium.
Employing the app can not only benefit doctors, but also cancer patients. It empowers physicians with data on fertility preservation and protects fertility in cancer patients. The research discovery seems to have great importance in the medical world.
The novel iPhone app made its debut on June 2 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago and at ENDO 2011, The Endocrine Society’s scientific sessions in Boston.