A cancer diagnosis is devastating at any age, but for young people the disease often brings an additional worry: infertility. The nonprofit group Fertile Hope has launched a program to help cancer patients whose treatments may leave them unable to have children.

The "Sharing Hope" program will pay some of the costs to freeze sperm, eggs, or embryos for patients who meet certain requirements.

"Preserving the dream of parenthood should be available to all cancer patients, regardless of economic status," said Lindsay Nohr Beck, who founded Fertile Hope in 2001. She started the organization because her own battle with cancer -- as a single woman in her early 20s -- forced her to search for a way to preserve her own fertility before beginning chemotherapy.

"I had to ask my parents to help pay for the cost [of egg freezing]," Beck explained. "For people in a similar situation, cost could be an issue."

The typical cost for sperm banking, Beck said, is about $1,500 to preserve 3 samples for 5 years. Procedures to freeze embryos or eggs generally run between $8,000 and $10,000, with additional costs for the medication to stimulate egg production. Storage of frozen sperm, embryos, or eggs costs about $400 a year.

Because insurance may not cover these procedures for cancer patients, Fertile Hope has partnered with several fertility companies to help patients afford these services.

For men, GIVF Cryobanks is discounting its sperm banking services by 75%. Under the Sharing Hope program, men will be charged just $142 to process, freeze, and store 1 sperm sample for 1 year. Additional specimens can be stored for $75 each for 1 year. Longer-term storage is not covered.

For women, pharmaceutical company Serono, Inc., is donating fertility medications needed to stimulate egg production. And fertility clinics around the country are offering varying discounts on harvesting and freezing procedures. Implantation of embryos is not covered, nor are annual storage fees.

Currently, 29 fertility clinics in 11 states have signed on to deliver services to women through the program, but any clinic can participate. Women can contact Fertile Hope for help to get their clinic involved, Beck said.

Patients must have a medical OK from an oncologist and a reproductive specialist, and must meet certain other requirements (like maximum income levels) to be eligible for the program.

Beck said her organization has no estimate of how many people may take advantage of the assistance.

"Because there has been no other program like this, we have no numbers to base expectations on," she said. "But we do know that about 10% of newly diagnosed cancer patients are under age 45 and therefore at risk of infertility."

The issue of fertility after cancer has become more pressing as advances in both cancer treatment and fertility treatments have been made, Beck said.

"We're at a really interesting crossroads because cancer survivorship rates are so high," she noted. "At the same time, there are all these fertility preservation options, so patients have the ability to address this. Now we're not just looking at survival, but also balancing that with quality of life."

Beck said many patients find great hope from efforts to preserve their fertility.

"It's the first tangible example that someone believes they'll survive," she said. "It's a part of the fight for the life that they imagined they'd live, and for many people that includes having a family."