Exogenous insults and their impact on the uterus and pregnancy success.

After life-saving cancer treatment, 80% of survivors experience diminished fertility. I have discovered that radiotherapy damages the uterus and influences pregnancy success by impairing maternal adaptations to pregnancy. Excitingly, preventing cell death following radiotherapy was able to protect against the observed damage, providing a promising therapeutic strategy to preserve cancer patient fertility in future. It is anticipated the findings from this thesis will help inform on the development of novel fertility preserving techniques to help cancer survivors start their own families, and improve their overall quality of life.