> cladribine has been shown to cause suppression of rapidly generating cells, including testicular cells
Unlike sperm, eggs are not rapidly generating cells. Human eggs are formed during the couple of months before a woman's own birth. A few of them are affected by the maturation process each cycle, but they aren't constantly dividing. By contrast, men produce literally millions of sperm each day, constantly, for essentially their entire adult lives.
Do you know which drugs are being considered "in the same class" in this case? AFAIK, there are no published reports that even hint at female fertility issues for cladribine, pentostatin, or fludarabine (the 'purine analogs'/most closely related drugs). The fertility concerns are entirely about men (and seem to be largely temporary). It's not appropriate to assume that a drug that is harmful to men's fertility -- or safe for it -- will have the same effect in women.
Given the absence of even a single published report to substantiate female fertility issues, it might be worth asking your doc why he (or she) gave you this warning. Is this a sign that the doc isn't very familiar with these drugs and/or hairy cell? Is this a standard warning automatically issued to any woman under a certain age by this clinic? (It's nice that clinics have finally stopped ignoring this issue, but automatic and unwarranted warnings under the "CYA policy" may be just as bad as their absence.) Does the doc perhaps know about a case that hasn't been published?
It sounds like you're in the UK: If you haven't talked to the UK's leading HCL experts at Royal Marsden Hospital, then you might want to consider that. We've got several UK HCLers on this board, and I'm sure they could give your their advice on finding a really top-notch HCL doc.
Oh, and if your Interferon-alpha experience is similar to mine, then your counts will immediately get worse on it (and later improve). It's a long-term treatment, not a quick fix.
-w.
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