This spring, a group of Extend Fertility runners completed the Brooklyn Half Marathon on behalf of Worth the Wait, raising nearly $1,200 for a nonprofit working to remove financial barriers between cancer patients and their future fertility.
Worth the Wait provides fertility preservation and family-building grants to young adult cancer patients and survivors.
Extend is dedicated to expanding access to fertility care. Worth the Wait shares that same mission, specifically serving oncofertility patients who often have days, not months, to make fertility preservation decisions before treatment begins.
How Worth the Wait Helps Young Cancer Survivors
Haley was 31 when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A year later, she received a thyroid cancer diagnosis. Her days soon revolved around the clinical grind of surgeries and the mounting weight of medical debt.
But beneath the immediate struggle for survival was a more private grief—the possibility that her path to recovery was narrowing her window to motherhood.
Haley’s fertility center introduced her to Worth the Wait. The nonprofit provided a grant that made her egg-freezing plan possible.
Each year in the United States, 89,500 people between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer. Many are actively planning families. Cancer treatment often forces an immediate and difficult choice—between 40 and 80 percent of women and 15 to 30 percent of men are left infertile after treatment.
While preservation is possible, the financial barrier is sometimes insurmountable. IVF alone can cost up to $20,000, and insurance rarely covers it.
Worth the Wait steps in when the healthcare system doesn’t. The nonprofit offers grants for egg and sperm banking, IVF, IUI, adoption, and gestational surrogacy, removing the barrier between cancer survivors and their future families.
A Cause Worth Running For
Fertility preservation for cancer patients is one of the most time-sensitive decisions in reproductive medicine. When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, the window to bank eggs or sperm before treatment begins can be days or weeks. Affordable access to care means a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to end the possibility of parenthood.
Isabel was only 20 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and needed to start chemotherapy right away. Her doctors recommended egg preservation to protect her fertility options.
“I was very worried about the cost,” she wrote. “But I knew I wanted a family in the future. That’s where Worth the Wait comes in. They do more than give grants for IVF and egg retrieval and preservation. They give hope to each person they help.”
Haley echoed Isabel’s gratitude. “Their support helped make my egg-freezing plan possible, but it also did something deeper: it reminded me that I still get to dream, plan, and build a future.”
Join Us in Supporting Worth the Wait
Donations to Worth the Wait go directly toward grants for cancer patients and survivors pursuing fertility preservation, adoption, and surrogacy. Every dollar goes to people like Haley and Isabel, cancer patients and survivors who are making plans for a future that includes a family.
To support Worth the Wait, make a donation at worththewaitcharity.com.
