My husband was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer, which is highly treatable. He had his left testicle removed about a month ago, and he starts chemotherapy treatments this week. We can't afford cryogenic sperm banking, and the doctor said it will cause infertility. Sometimes the fertility coe=mes back after a few years, but not for sure. Does anyone know about this or have experienced this?? We faced similar circumstances for our 17 year old son. After a very difficult discussion to have with your teenage son (whoever thought we'd have fertility discussions with our teenager), he decided to move forward with treatment. He knows that he will probably never father a child, but his decision was based on the uncertainty about whether cancer is hereditary or not. He made the decision that he did not want to bring a child into the world that may end up with his type of cancer. It was his decision.
That being said, I know of at least one young man who underwent high dose chemo treatments and has been cancer free for ten years . . he just became a new father a few months ago. So, it is possible. It's highly unlikely that it will come back, and even if it does, the sperm may not be of the greatest quality. I'm not sure where you are, but sperm banking in Canada is actually quite affordable. I think it's about $200 per year. I'm not sure what other costs are involved with that.
You could always use a sperm donor when you are ready to have children, too. |
