As more young people are surviving cancer, more women are considering whether they should have a baby after having the disease.

As Kathy Holt found out, a diagnosis of cancer never comes at a convenient time. "I was 25 when I was diagnosed, newly married and it just changed my life completely."

Kathy thought being diagnosed with cervical cancer was going to end her dreams of being a mother. But there was good news; doctors were able to save her ovaries. "So I do have my ovaries, which lead to the fertility treatments that I did later on."

Gynecologist Lawrence Antonucci says a waiting period is often required before women can start planning a pregnancy after cancer. If they've had chemotherapy, time is needed to be sure all of the toxins are out of their body and doctor's also want to wait until the risk of recurrence has decreased. "We know that these women now, if they're in remission and they seem to be cured of their cancer, getting pregnant does not seem to alter their prognosis in a negative way, so these women really can get pregnant."

Oncology care specialist Laurie Wise says that they can get pregnant with regard to infertility treatment really depends on what type of cancer and cancer treatment they have. But men may need to think about future fatherhood as well. "What the physicians suggest to them is that they sperm save, do a sperm donation and then before they get that chemotherapy started and then they are able to use that sperm at a later date."

So cancer does not have to mean the end of your parenthood dreams. As for Kathy, she's a mother of 2 and has been cancer free now for 10 years. Rates of birth defects in children born after cancer treatment appear similar to that of the general population. But if you have a strong family history of cancer, you may want to talk to your doctor about genetic counseling to understand your future child's risk.