Cancer Patients Info

Sperm Banking Prior to Cancer Treatments

Many men agree that being a Dad is one of life's most rewarding achievements.

Finding out that you have cancer is devastating. So many questions come to mind, what is cancer? What medical treatments will I have to endure? How long will I be sick? When will I get better? How will the treatments affect my body? Your doctor will talk to you about the type of cancer you have, explain that cancer is a disease in which there are cells growing rapidly out of control, then decide on the best treatment options for your type of cancer. At this time, your physician should also inform you about the affects your medical treatments will have on you now, and in the future. There are some physicians who do not talk about all of the side effects of your medical treatments, one such side effect is the possibility of sterility. Any or all of the medical treatments used to make you better may affect your chance to have a biological child in the future.

Your oncologist will probably discuss the necessity for medical treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery. Sometimes your oncologist will recommend all three protocols. We recommend you inquire about the effects of treatment on your fertility.

Chemotherapy is administered into the blood stream via a catheter, injection or can be taken orally. Chemotherapy drugs are distributed throughout the body by means of the blood stream destroying and or inhibiting the process of rapidly dividing and growing cancer cells. During this time not only are the cancer cells affected, but also some normal cells. This is the reason why some people experience hair loss, weakened immune systems and infertility.

Radiation therapy via x-rays place energy in the area being treated, damaging the genetic material of cells and making it impossible for these cells to divide. Therefore like chemotherapy, radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells. If radiation treatment is used in the reproductive production part of the body, there is a chance that the normal cells will be affected negatively; therefore, becoming unable to function properly.

Now we see why fertility is often jeopardized by radiation, chemotherapy and/or some surgeries. Many of the chemotherapy drugs administered for Hodgkin's or testicular cancer have a direct affect on your sperm cell production. In order to better understand this concept we should talk about how sperm is produced. Sperm cells are produced in the testis over a period of about 72 hours, as the cells mature, they become rapidly dividing cells. At which time they are very vulnerable to toxins. Chemotherapy drugs as Cytoxan, procarbazine, nitrosoureas and numerous others can damage these cells, potentially leading to oligospermia (low sperm count) or azoospermia (absence of sperm cells) either temporarily or for the long term.

Although you may not be thinking about having your own biological child at this time, storing your sperm should be a serious consideration as you now know there is a high probability that your medical treatments will result in reduced fertility. Thanks to research and state of the art technology the survival rate for testicular and Hodgkin's cancer patients may be in the 90% to 95% range allowing for a long and healthy life after cancer.

Having successfully beaten cancer, you may now want to become a father. Quality of life is an important issue. Enjoying the rewards of experiencing fatherhood should not be taken away by treatments that have ultimately saved your life. For this very reason sperm banking should be considered to protect your future fertility.

Okay, so you have made the decision to store your sperm, what is sperm banking and how does it work? Sperm banking simply means collecting sperm, freezing it and storing for future use. A sperm bank will process your sample by adding a cryoprotectant to it, implement specific reproductive tissue freezing techniques and store in liquid nitrogen for long term preservation.

XTS Tissue Storage will help you answer storage questions and maintain your samples for future use. Please look at our Sperm Storage page on this web site and call us with your questions or for an appointment to visit one of our offices.