Fertility compromised due to chemo?  Question from Zoe: I am a
30-year-old woman just diagnosed with breast cancer Stage 2,
estrogen-positive. If I was to go through chemotherapy, what is
the likelihood of my fertility being compromised? Answers -
Kutluk Oktay, M.D. This is going to depend on the combination
therapy that you will receive. In general, the combination that
involves CMF (Cytoxan, methotrexate, 5-Fluorouracil) tends to
have a higher rate of ovarian failure and infertility compared
to AC chemotherapy (Adriamycin and Cytoxan, with or without a
taxane). For a 40-year-old woman, the likelihood of infertility
within one year of chemotherapy is about 80%, whereas for the AC
combination, it's about 40%. So the incidence doubles if you get
CMF.  For a 30-year-old, this would be lower. But resumption of
menstruation is not necessarily a good way to assess if you
remain fertile, because regardless of the combination, the CMF
results in significant damage to your eggs. If you're younger,
you have a larger n