Cancer

[RaveclawZia13]

Hi my partner has almost finished treatment for testicular cancer and will soon be having the op to remove his testicle. He has been told that there is around a 75% chance that he will be left infertile. Before treatment started he had some sperm frozen however the sample wasn't very big and it can't be used for traditional IVF (I'm assuming it will be ICSI that's done). Does anyone have any experience of a partner receiving treatment for cancer in particular testicular cancer and having children later on? Or what ICSI really is and the process you have to go through?
Thanks

Rave Traditional IVF is where the egg and sperm are all mixed together on a Petri dish and a sperm fertilises the egg as it would do in your body. Icsi is what you'll have seen on telly - where a single sperm is selected and infected into the egg. I'm sorry I don't know anything more re the effect of testicular cancer - I hope your DH is well and really sorry you've both had to go through it.

I don't have a lot to say, but wanted to wish you could luck and hope your husband does well.

IVF and ICSI are the exact same with the only difference being how the egg is fertilised as icy has pointed out.

I've just completed a cycle of IVF (failed) and whilst it was emotionally horrendous, the process is ok and not too sure and nowhere near as bad as I had feared. X

Hi Raveclaw, I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. I don't have personal experience in this but I have a friend whose boyfriend had treatment for a very rare kind of endrocrine cancer (I'm not even sure what it's called). They froze a semen sample and thought they would have to do IVF, as they were told natural conception was unlikely. She was also really worried that they hadn't frozen enough of a sample. However, she recently got pregnant spontaneously (after his treatment). I hope that gives you hope.

I also worked with someone years ago who had testicular cancer and now has a kid. But I don't know any details.

Otherwise, it could be worth contacting charities like Macmillan as they will have seen this sort of situation before - maybe they have chat boards also? Whereas most people on this board are probably here for reasons other than cancer treatment so you not find someone in a similar situation.

Treatments for cancer are excellent these days - I really hope everything goes well for you and your partner, good luck

Thank you all for your messages.

We have never discounted surrogacy or adoption so that is always a possibility for us. We have just always seen kids in our future and my partner especially was very upset at the thought of us never having children. Hopefully in a few weeks we will know whether the treatment has worked and we can go from there.

Thank you again

it is worth him getting a repeat check about 6 months after his treatment has finished to see if his fertility has been affected, sometimes it takes even longer to come back. When you are thinking about trying for a family or even before I'd recommend you get a referral to the clinic where his sample is stored for a review of you both and a chat about the way forward. Good luck with everything x

I had icsi from sperm frozen for 8 years after she had cancer treatment.

The result is snoring gently beside me in her cot.

IVF has around a 75% success rate after 4 attempts and will be higher for you if you don't have any additional issues. The likelihood is that you guys will go on to have a baby.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this though, it's so very unfair.

Should say 'after dh had cancer treatment.

Hi! I'm so sorry you and your hubby are going through this. My husband was diagnosed in 2013 and had chemo and his testicle removed. His sperm count was around 100,000 at the time, which is dire! We started ttc 3 months after the chemo and 1.5 years later, one week before starting icsi, we fell pregnant naturally. It amazed the doctors, we feel so incredibly lucky. We're now trying for number 2 and a year later no luck, so will pay for icsi next year once we pass the 1.5 year mark again. Hubby's sperm count is now 800,000, so it has improved 3 years after chemo but still incredibly low. I hope this gives you some hope (our little girl's middle name is Hope!). I wish your hubby a speedy recovery and all the very best. I have very dark memories of 2013, infertility is a second blow after TC diagnosis and it is very hard to cope with. But you can get through it and you will. There are many fertility options available to you. Good luck xx

I should add, please PM me if you have any questions or ask on here. We spent 1.5 years considering our options and researching before our little miracle, so have a fair amount of knowledge. xx

Thank you for all your messages.

You have given me a lot of hope for our future

Hi Ravenclaw my husband and I were having ICSI because his testicular cancer and subsequent treatment buggered his sperm.

His treatment for cancer was 13 years ago and they did radiotherapy (which apparently isn't done down south) no sperm was frozen (doctor pretty much dismissed him when he asked). We think it's the radiotherapy that has effectively rendered him infertile and our only hope is donor sperm. We did two rounds of ICSI and we got one embryo the first time round. Nothing on the second cycle.

This was just our experience. I have a friend who also had testicular cancer (discovered when they saw the docs about not conceiving) and they ended up doing icsi (along with his own cancer treatment) and they got twins.

Feel free to pm me too if you want to talk x

Thank you. I read my partner these messages whilst I visited him in hospital and he was emotional knowing it is still a possibility for us.

It's scary knowing tomorrow isn't guaranteed and we shouldn't have really put it off for a 'better' time when we could have managed.

Can't help with personal experiences, but wish a positive outcome x

Thank you User1468929072

Hi Ravenclaw, sorry you are going through this. It's a similar story for us. DH had bowel cancer 3 years ago. We knew treatment (surgery and chemo) could leave him infertile so he banked sperm. We were told at the time that if we needed to use it we'd be offered icsi.
We waited a few months after treatment ended before ttc but nothing happened after a year. We went to GPs in Feb and sperm analysis showed a count of zero. Hospital referral took a few weeks but we've now got our clinic referral for ivf in early Nov.
Wishing your DH a full and speedy recovery

Thank you BirdyBoo I hope your IVF goes well