Having a baby after chemotherapy

[12daylilies]

My OH is currently having chemotherapy for testicular cancer. We are lucky that there is a 95% chance of cure, but have been told that it may impact his fertility. We froze some sperm prior to his treatment to give us options.

I have just been told that I had a missed miscarriage. I am really struggling to cope with this loss, alongside everything that is going on the cancer.

Please tell me your stories of having a baby after chemotherapy. I think IUI may be a good option for us, so it would be good to hear about people's experience of that too. Thank you.

Hello @12daylilies

I am sorry to read your post, a MMC on top of everything else you are both going through is utterly devastating. I am so so sorry you are going through this.

My other half had cancer when he was 26 (before I knew him) and it did indeed leave him infertile. However, he went on to have a child with his ex via ICSI, it took them 5 attempts but they got there in the end.

We had ICSI earlier this year and it worked very well, sadly I miscarried at 10.5 weeks. We are about to start a second cycle to try again.

Hopefully my story has shown you that it is possible, there is hope.

Wishing you and your OH the very very best with his treatment, and future IVF/ICSI cycles should you decide to go down that road xx

Hello @Goldilocks2528

Thank you for replying. So sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I really hope the next cycle of ICSI goes well for you.

It's good to know that there is hope (even if it may be a long journey). I think I need to improve my knowledge of all the options. IUI/IVF/ICSI, it's seems like a minefield! Xx

Hi OP, sorry to hear of all you're dealing with, the MMC on top of the cancer diagnosis is a lot. 💐
Will you be able to access treatment on the NHS?
You will know that IUI has lower success rates, though it works for some.
My concern would be defrosting a straw of sperm for a chance with just one or two eggs compared to possibly creating several embryos with one cycle of IVF.
Those odds depend on how your body reacts and there isn't really a way to know in advance.
I'd probably check how many straws your DH has frozen to be in a better position to make a decision.
Also check regarding funding of treatment.
If self-funding and a good quantity of frozen sperm I'd probably try a cycle of IUI first.

@Goldilocks2528 sorry to hear about your miscarriage too 💐

Hi @12daylilies sorry to hear the rough time you’ve been having. I’m no where near as far down the road as other who’ve posted, but just wanted to echo what @LongerthanMrTicklesarms said.

My OH has just last month had surgery to remove his one remaining testicle after a second bout of testicular cancer 15 years after his first diagnosis (super shit luck!). He hasn’t needed chemo after his surgery.

Bit of a long story and I won’t bore you with the detail, but we’re going straight to ICSI as we’re NHS funded and it’s much more likely to be successful than IUI and we’ve got limited ammo for sighting shots 😉

Depending how you’re funding and what your CCG recommend will make the difference. I was initially really bummed out about going straight to ICSI as it feels suuuuper medicalised (not that IUI isn’t, but that’s just how I felt), but actually I’d rather we just crack on with whatever’s most likely to succeed.

My advice would be to be persistent with your clinic / urologist and make sure you’re clear about the possibilities and processes (not easy in Covid times when you’re not allowed in cancer consultations with your partner!).

Best of luck with all. X

Also to add (and I don’t want to sound like negative-Nelly, but….) my OH was told when he had his first surgery as a teenager that he should have no problem conceiving naturally with just the one testicle, but he should bank some sperm “just in case”. Thank fuuuuck for just in case!! And it may sound mega obvious, but keep hold of that paperwork and keep it up to date! My husband is notoriously disorganised, but his mum had kept all the admin stuff from when he was 18 which now means there’s at least the possibility of us having a baby, having been able to track down his frozen swimmers in a hospital at the other side of the country!

Thank you so much for your replies. We have 19 straws of frozen sperm and are self funded. I'm thinking we may try 3 rounds of IUI prior to IVF, but will be guided by the fertility specialist. It's just good to hear about options. Anything to make the miscarriage feel less final.

I'm sorry to hear about your OH @BeachPeach. A recurrence after 15 years is incredibly unlucky. I hope he recovers well from his surgery and good luck with the ICSI.

I feel so sorry for the teenagers diagnosed with testicular cancer. How are you meant to plan for your future fertility at that age? It's hard enough when you are in your 30s! Xx