There are cases where people are suing hospitals where they didn't advise them about their fertility

Peter Brinsden, Bourn Hall Fertility Clinic

He is concerned that some people are not being given the full picture, which could lead to disappointment and in some cases, litigation.

Time is never on anyone's side with cancer, but it is critical to act quickly to harvest sperm, eggs or ovarian tissue before chemotherapy or radiation treatment begins.

The option for men is to freeze their sperm for future use in IVF treatment or IUI - intrauterine insemination, but there are limits on how much you can store.

Women may choose to freeze their own eggs, fertilised in vitro by their partner's sperm before the start of treatment and stored as an embryo, but it is a time-consuming process.

The other option is to freeze a woman's unfertilised eggs for future use, but very few clinics in the UK are licensed to carry out this process.

It is difficult to perform because the eggs are delicate and easily damaged during thawing.

Success rates are low, with only about 30 babies born from frozen eggs since 1986, when the first attempts were made.

New developments

It takes three to 10 weeks to stimulate the ovaries to produce mature eggs and retrieve them.

Delaying cancer treatment could prove fatal, which is why fertility centres need early diagnosis.

Chemotherapy can destroy human reproductive systems

One new method, which is very much in the experimental stages and as yet unsuccessful, is ovarian cryopreservation - the freezing of ovarian tissue.

It is hoped that medical advances will enable the cryopreserved ovarian tissue to be later reimplanted in the ovarian bed with the hope of restoring a woman's reproductive and endocrine function.

Legal threat

Gynaecologist Peter Brinsden at Bourn Hall Fertility Clinic in Cambridgeshire, which treats private and NHS patients, said giving people realistic advice is critical.

He said: "They need to be seen by fertility specialists and that isn't happening.

"But there are a lot of people, even specialists like myself, who don't know how to advise these people.

"There are cases where people are suing hospitals where they didn't advise them about their fertility.

"Unless we counsel these people we are all at risk of being sued."

He is concerned about getting the information right.

He said: "The accusation has been levelled at private clinics which offer tissue freezing that they are not doing enough to give adequate information.

Young patients

"They need to make it clear that it's not yet existing technology and it might never work."

Mr Brinsden has his own technique for dealing with patients, some of whom are as young as 12.

We are trying to be as honest as we know. I ask patients to ask me questions, but I never mislead people

Professor John Radford, Christie Hospital

He firstly emphasises the need to get them better and their chances of survival, but then discusses fertility options.

He said: "I am passionate about getting the information across to these young people.

"But not many people have the knowledge to give them that advice.

"We need a system in place for a quick referral to us."

Private gamble

John Radford, Professor of medical oncology at Manchester's Christie Hospital, which treats NHS patients, says cancer specialists always go through fertility options with people as part of their discussion of the drugs' side effects.

He also insists people are told about their chances in a realistic way.

He said: "In the field of cancer treatment, we are facing all sorts of difficult decisions all the time.

"We are trying to be as honest as we know. I ask patients to ask me questions, but I never mislead people.

"This is all about providing appropriate information.

"I don't think people are being given false hope.

"We always say we can't make guarantees."

He is aware that people may be willing to pay for pioneering treatments in private clinics and take a gamble they may work in the future.

But that is personal choice, and in most cases, if there is the smallest chance of success, it is human nature to take part in the scientific lottery of the future.