The experience of TYAC offered ovarian tissue cryopreservation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An interpretative phenomenological analysis study into the experience of teenagers and young adults who have been offered ovarian tissue cryopreservation prior to cancer treatment.
IRAS ID
192229
Contact name
Rebekah Tennyson Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
In the UK, around 2,200 teenagers and young adults (TYA) are diagnosed with cancer every year. Due to advances in treatments, survival rates have improved, and as a result there is a growing population of long-term survivors of childhood/adolescent cancer who may experience late effects of cancer and/or treatment, such as impairment or loss of fertility. Research shows infertility to be an unanticipated, confusing, and frightening risk, sometimes felt as acutely as a cancer diagnosis, and especially distressing for women.
Around 10% of female TYA with cancer (TYAC) will be at risk of premature ovarian failure, and most have little prior knowledge of the effects of cancer or its treatment on fertility, and studies show that fertility issues are not sufficiently addressed with TYA. Fertility concerns are associated with distress and depressive symptoms. For some cancer survivors, infertility “dominates the cancer legacy” and is experienced as harder to recover from and accept than other aspects of the cancer experience.
This research will aim to understand the experiences of TYAC who have undergone ovarian cryopreservation (OTC); this is a relatively new procedure in the UK and no research has been conducted looking at the experiences of people undergoing it. TYA have been chosen as the target population for this study as they have historically fallen through ‘gaps’ in healthcare, and it is important to gain a better understanding of, and sensitivity to, the experiences of fertility risk and preservation during this specific life stage.
8-10 participants will be sampled from the pool of female TYAC who have undergone OTC. Semistructured interviews will be conducted in a hospital setting familiar to them, at the participants’ home or online via Skype. Data will be analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative approach which aims to generate a subjective understanding of the participant’s experience.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0317
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion