Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer

Ongoing Research

Ovary reserve in breast cancer survivors: A call for participants

While many young women continue to have periods after chemotherapy for breast cancer, their ovarian function may not be as robust. A new study will look at the long-term effects of breast cancer chemotherapy on the ovaries of young women compared to women who have not received chemotherapy.

Knowledge of how well ovaries work following treatment is important information for young women with breast cancer. An evaluation of views about fertility for women with and without a history of breast cancer will also be conducted to better understand fertility concerns in all young women.

Enrollment is open to breast cancer survivors ages 18-42 who received chemotherapy as treatment, and continue to have menstrual periods. In addition, researchers are interested in recruiting female friends or family members who are about the age of the survivor, with no history of breast cancer, and who have never received chemotherapy. (This is not a requirement for participation.)

For more information, please contact Meghan Meyer, research coordinator, at (617) 632-4983 or mmeyer1@partners.org.

Helping Ourselves, Helping Others: The Young Women's Breast Cancer Study

We are currently launching a large prospective cohort study in eastern Massachusetts to follow young women with breast cancer over a period of 10 years in an attempt to address many of the unanswered questions facing younger patients.

Implementation of the Survivorship Care Plan

We are planning on launching a survivorship care plan program to be conducted at the end of treatment for each patient. This program will provide a model for the rest of Dana-Farber and beyond for patients transitioning from active treatment to survivorship.