CANCER TREATMENT
MALE INFERTILITY
Ideally, discussions surrounding privately storing sperm samples for future use should take place prior to any cancer treatments. Unfortunately, some physicians forget to mention this important step, so this may be a conversation you have to bring up yourself.
Male infertility is an inability to produce normal healthy sperm or to ejaculate sperm. Although sperm production can sometimes be restored following the treatment of cancer, it is not guaranteed, and the risks of infertility should always be discussed with your healthcare provider(s).
Cancers that are shown to cause male infertility are :
- Testicular Cancer
- Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Leukemia
By identifying this risk of potential infertility up front, CryoChoice assists you in taking the necessary steps prior to treatment to preserve your sperm for future use.
THE IMPACT ON YOUR BODY
Different forms of chemotherapy and radiation have different impacts on the body, especially if the treatment involves the pelvic area and/or testicles; some treatments can cause severe damage to the DNA, which could affect the sperm’s ability to fertilize an egg. Cancer treatments that could cause male infertility are :
- Radiation therapy
- Alkylating Chemotherapy
- Platinum-Based Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy can slow down and even stop sperm cell production if the testicle(s) is in or near the target area of the radiation treatment.
CANCER & SURGERIES
Surgical causes of male infertility are surgeries that are used to treat prostate or bladder cancer, which typically cut the pathway for sperm cells to be included in the semen. Testicular or colon cancer surgeries sometimes result in damaged nerves that are involved in orgasm, thus resulting in “dry orgasms” or ejaculation without semen.
THE PIONEER IN AT-HOME SPERM COLLECTION
The quality of a sperm sample that derives from a person with cancer could yield:
- a low volume
- limited motility
- abnormal shapes
- low sperm count
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But you can and should still store the sperm,
even if the quality or quantity is affected.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
CryoChoice understands that with cancer diagnoses and treatment, time is of the essence, which is why we offer overnight shipping as the standard option for all of our kits. We also have partnerships with doctors and hospitals across the country who store our kits for emergency purposes. Check with your healthcare provider to see if they have our kit available.
Once your kit is received at our lab, our laboratory technicians will begin processing your sample immediately. As long as your sample contains some sperm cells, our lab technicians can process the sample and it can be cryogenically preserved and stored for future fertility treatments. As your sample is processed, a semen analysis will be performed, all vials will be equalized, and a detailed report is provided to each client.
In addition, we provide an extra service for all of our cancer clients, which separates the sperm sample into as many possible vials as possible in a protocol we call “Preparation IVF” to allow for as many attempts at fertility as possible in the future. It is a protocol unique to CryoChoice and a service we are proud to offer our cancer clients.
