My Daughter (age 24) Is Supposed To Start Chemo For

Posted on Sun, 4 Nov 2018

Question: My daughter (age 24) is supposed to start chemo for Type II Hodgkins Lymphoma on Nov 1st. Her oncologist ordered a lupron shot to be administered tomorrow. At the same time, she is supposed to start fertility drugs to do an egg retrieval prior to starting chemo. She panicked this morning, feeling that her oncologist and the fertility dr have not communicated and that possibly she should be waiting till her egg retrieval is finished before taking the lupron. She has tried to reach the dr, but being sunday as not heard back. She doesn't know if she should have the lupron shot tomorrow morning. Is this typical standard of care?

Answered by Dr. Dr.Dorina Gurabardhi (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Lupron shot should be administered 36 hour before egg retrieval.

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear and welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

I understand your concern.

Lupron shot is a trigger shot which helps in maturing the developing follicles and reaching ovulation.

This shot is injected before egg retrieval, precisely 36 hours before egg retrieval.

The doctor decide when to administer the Lupron shot depending on the size of the follicles and the level of estradiol.

It is a very standard procedure, so you should not worry.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T