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Press Releases
| Women & Infants Signs Contract with Lance Armstrong Foundation to Provide Discounted Fertility Services |
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05/10/10
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Infertility affects approximately 6.1 million women and their partners in the U.S. – about 10 percent of the women of reproductive age. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of young women seeking to preserve their eggs before seeking treatment for cancer or other diseases that may impact their fertility.
Unfortunately, some patients cannot seek treatment because of insurance coverage restrictions, income or other barriers. With this in mind, Women & Infants’ Center for Reproduction and Infertility has become a proud member of LIVESTRONG’s Sharing Hope Program. As a participating center in the Sharing Hope Program, the Center for Reproduction and Infertility works with LIVESTRONG to increase access to fertility preservation services for cancer patients. Through this partnership, Women & Infants will be able to provide discounted fertility preservation treatment and free medications for women, adolescents and toddlers who are preparing to go through chemotherapy, radiation or other aggressive drug therapies to treat cancer. To apply or for more information, visit livestrong.org/fertilehope.
“Struggling with infertility can put an incredible amount of stress on a woman and her partner. But add to that the stress of the financial commitment required for the treatment, and the results can be overwhelming,” said Sandra A. Carson, MD, medical director of the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants and Tufts Medical Center and professor at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
“Increasingly, we are also seeing more women, adolescents and even children who are facing medical issues that require them to consider the impact of treatment on their fertility. So they are facing the costs and emotional turmoil of treating, say breast cancer or childhood leukemia, and now need to take into consideration the costs and additional emotional turmoil of preserving their fertility. We are so grateful for this opportunity to partner with the Lance Armstrong Foundation to offer help to many of these patients who may require financial assistance,” continued Dr. Carson.
Among the many services offered at the Center for Reproduction and Infertility is the Program for Fertility Preservation which includes options for fertility preservation in children, working in coordination with the Division of Oncology at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
The physicians in the Program regularly meet with young women, young girls, and their families to review the effects of cancer treatment on ovarian function and fertility. They have recently started an experimental program to freeze tissue from the ovaries before they are damaged. Once the child is cured of her cancer and ready to have children this tissue may be transplanted back into her body or eggs may be extracted from the tissue for in vitro fertilization.
Women & Infants Hospital is part of the National Oncofertility Network, centered at Northwestern University, which is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Women & Infants’ Center for Reproduction and Infertility is the largest fertility program in Rhode Island and a critical resource for thousands of couples from around the region hoping to have a baby. The Center’s medical professionals are internationally recognized for their unparalleled experience in all areas of reproductive medicine and see patients at 11 sites in RI, MA and CT. The entire IVF cycle is performed in Providence, and the frozen embryos are also stored here. For information about the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital, call (401) 453-7500 or visit womenandinfants.org/infertility.
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, Women & Infants is the seventh largest obstetrical service in the country with more than 9,000 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country’s largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group. The hospital was named Rhode Island’s Best Place to Work by Providence Business News and a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the federal government. For information about Women & Infants, log on to womenandinfants.org. |
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