Objective: This study explored the emotional state and decision perceptions of fertility preservation (FP) decisions of male and female cancer patients undergoing FP.
Setting: Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University.
Method: All patients with a cancer diagnosis were referred by their physician to contact a fertility preservation specialist for FP plan discussion. After FP counseling, participants completed sociodemographic and basic information surveys and validated psychological and decisional scales.
Results: The final sample included 17 male and 16 female cancer FP patients. Overall, 85% of participants reported currently undergoing moderate to severe depression and anxiety states. Sex differences were found in both depression and anxiety states (P < 0.05). Both genders demonstrated a low level of regret in the decision to preserve fertility, indicating that participants felt they had made the right decision. However, there displayed decisional conflict, suggesting that cancer patients felt high conflict when making decisions.
Conclusion: In conclusion, there is a nonnegligible emotional burden on FP patients who have already undergone a painful situation before the start of oncological treatment. This is the first study to use validated DRS to examine emotional problems occurring in both men and women during FP decision-making.
Keywords: Anxiety; Cancer; Decision perceptions; Depression; Fertility preservation; Psychology state.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.