Partners and Future Pregnancies
Navigating Fertility and Future Pregnancy Together
When your partner is diagnosed with breast cancer, thoughts about the future—including the possibility of pregnancy—can feel overwhelming. You may both be wondering how treatment could affect their fertility and what that means for your plans to grow your family.
These Are Not Easy Conversations, but You Don’t Have to Face Them Alone
If having children is something you and your partner are considering, it’s important to talk with the care team early on. Doctors, fertility specialists, and social workers can explain how treatment might impact fertility and what options are available to preserve the chance of pregnancy later on.
Your Support, Openness, and Reassurance Can Make All the Difference
While breast cancer treatment can make pregnancy more challenging, many couples have gone on to build the families they dreamed of. Remind your partner that you’re in this together, no matter what the path looks like.
Fertility and Treatment: What to Know
How might treatment affect our future, including plans for children? Cancer treatments can impact reproductive health, depending on the type, duration, and timing of care. Some treatments may temporarily disrupt the menstrual cycle, while others can cause long-term changes that affect the ability to conceive. The effects can vary widely from person to person. (You can also check out our Protecting Fertility section for more info.)
Two common treatments—endocrine therapy and chemotherapy—can affect fertility.
Endocrine Therapy
If your partner’s breast cancer is hormone-receptor-positive, treatment may include hormonal (also called endocrine) therapy, like Tamoxifen. These medications don’t damage the ovaries directly but may cause irregular periods.
Endocrine therapy is often prescribed for 5 to 10 years, and during that time, fertility declines naturally with age. For example, if your partner starts therapy at 32, their fertility at 37—when the treatment might be paused or completed—will likely be lower regardless of the therapy itself.
Some people choose to temporarily pause endocrine therapy to try to become pregnant. A recent international study called POSITIVE found that taking a break from endocrine therapy to pursue pregnancy did not increase the risk of cancer coming back. Many participants were able to conceive and have healthy babies. This is encouraging news, but it’s still important to talk with the medical team to weigh the risks and benefits based on your partner’s unique diagnosis.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can directly affect the ovaries and reduce fertility. Certain chemo drugs are more damaging than others. While some people continue having regular periods during treatment, others experience amenorrhea (when periods stop temporarily) or menopause (when they stop permanently).
In people under 40, periods sometimes return after chemo, but not always. The older your partner is, the more likely they are to experience permanent menopause or infertility afterward.
Most current studies show a strong relationship between long-term amenorrhea and infertility. However, it’s important to understand:
- A lack of periods after treatment doesn’t always mean infertility.
- Having periods after treatment doesn’t guarantee fertility, either.
- Only a fertility specialist can help assess whether pregnancy is still possible.
Being there for your partner during this time means being part of the conversations. You don’t need to have all the answers, just a willingness to learn, listen, and move forward as a team.
To learn more about fertility preservation and other reproductive options for you and your partner, visit the Fertility Preservation page here.
