The Oncofertility Consortium is pleased to welcome Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron as a guest blogger today.

This is a blog post based on the article, Toward theoretical understanding of the fertility preservation decision-making process: examining information processing among young women with cancer by authors P.E. Hershberger, L. Finnegan, S. Altfeld, S. Lake, and J. Hirshfeld-Cytron, in Research and Theory for Nursing Practice.

By: Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, MD/MSCI

It’s 2014 and women are still getting paid less than men in the workforce. While we’re all aware that this is happening, what’s less clear is why it’s happening. Earlier this month, some politicians voted down the equal pay bill by saying “There’s a disparity not because female engineers are making less than male engineers at the same company. The disparity exists because a female social worker makes less than a male engineer.” This statement implies that women get paid less than men because they choose to work in lower-paying jobs—but this is wrong.

Depression, especially in pregnancy, is a sensitive subject.  It impacts the woman, her child and her family and it affects between 14 and 23% women during pregnancy.  Because of hormonal changes during pregnancy, a woman may not realize she is suffering from depression.  A new, comprehensive guide about this condition that discusses symptoms and treatment to help  women and their family members understand and cope with this issue is now available from the a site called PsychGuides.   For a helpful resource visit   Living with Depression during Pregnancy

Today, FDA issued a safety communication discouraging the use of laparoscopic power morcellation for the removal of the uterus (hysterectomy) or uterine fibroids (myomectomy) in women.  This type of procedure poses a risk of spreading unsuspected cancerous tissue, notably uterine sarcomas, a type of uterine cancer.

Laparoscopic power morcellation is one of several available treatments for fibroids.  It is a procedure that uses a medical device to divide the uterine tissue into smaller pieces so it can be removed through a small incision in the abdomen.  Prior to treatment, there is no reliable method for identifying whether a woman may have an unsuspected uterine sarcoma instead of, or in addition to, fibroids.  Published studies suggest that morcellation of an unsuspected uterine sarcoma increases the risk of cancer spread.