In Support of AYA Fertility Preservation: The December 2022 CATCH Is Awarded to Megan Solinger, MHS, MA, OPN-CG

Megan Solinger, MHS, MA, OPN-CG

A CATCH is a navigation success story where a navigation tactic improved a patient’s situation. The CATCH Initiative, short for Catching & Addressing Threats to Care & Health, tracks and acknowledges positive outcomes of navigation tactics.

The CATCH of the Month

Background: A 29-year-old male was diagnosed with leukemia. The treatment team recommended urgent initiation of treatment.

The Incident: Treatment would likely cause infertility. The patient had only a short amount of time to decide if he wanted to preserve a semen sample prior to starting treatment. Understanding the urgency of the situation, all parties worked together to provide a timely consultation on fertility preservation options.

The CATCH (Intervention): Megan educated the patient and his family on iatrogenic infertility and fertility preservation options. She was well prepared to address the emotional and psychosocial impact of fertility conservation on the patient and his fiancé. After the consultation the patient decided to preserve a semen sample.

Outcome: Two years later, Megan learned that the couple was expecting the child they always dreamed of, made possible through fertility preservation tactics.

The Importance of This CATCH

In a fertility review article by Kim and colleagues, the authors acknowledge that the importance of fertility preservation to patients was second only to survival.¹ Further, in a 2015 study, Deshpande and colleagues found that receiving fertility preservation counseling reduced long-term regret and dissatisfaction concerning fertility and was associated with improved physical quality of life (QOL) and trends toward improved psychological QOL.²

This CATCH emphasizes the importance of fertility preservation for oncology patients and the impact a patient navigator has in improving the treatment journey, QOL, and potential future family for the patient, their partner, and extended family.

References

1. Kim SY, Kim SK, Lee JR, Woodruff TK. Toward precision medicine for preserving fertility in cancer patients: existing and emerging fertility preservation options for women. J Gynecol Oncol. 2016;27(2):e22.
2. Deshpande NA, Braun IM, Meyer FL. Impact of fertility preservation counseling and treatment on psychological outcomes among women with cancer: a systematic review. Cancer. 2015;121:3938-3947.