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Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:35 pm
by Denise75
My husband (of 6 months) was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in December 07. He has undergone surgery (Jan 08 ) and will begin chemo sometime this month.

Being newlyweds we have been looking forward to having kids. However...we're concernred with some issues he's having since surgery and even more worried about the effects of chemo. When we saw the surgeon they indicated there were no concerns about fathering a child post colon cancer but the oncologist advised some preventitive options such as "banking".

Does anyone have any experiences with this? Has anyone (preferrably males, no offense ladies) had children after treatments?

Curious and worried.
Denise

fertility

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:14 pm
by CBLACK
My husband was referred to a bank by his oncologist and I would recommend it. Obviously it isn't the most thrilling, but there is a chance that counts are low after chemo. My husband was told to wait a year after chemo finished to get sperm counts checked. We are approaching a year soon so we will see. I have asked similar questions on this board before and most fertility responses are females.

Re: Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:43 pm
by Swedishchris
My husband had had chemo, radiation,surgery and more chemo(oxalaplatin). After surgery his sperm no longer comes out. Doctor told us there is a chance (he cold not say how big) to have children but to wait two years. Very tough not to know.

Re: Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:48 am
by oysterbeast
If you're serious about having a family, definitely bank some of those bad boys! The first time I was dx, the doctors really pushed me to bank sperm. I was 28 and beside being financially unprepared, it wasn't my top priority to have kids anytime soon. Fast forward about 2 years, a year out of treatment I had a recurrence in my lymph nodes. The surgery to remove the cancer is very similar to that of testicular cancer and comes with the potential side effect of not being able to ejaculate. This time I was more established, kids seemed more relevant and the doctors recommended I bank sperm. So I gave them a sample. After they tested it the doctor let me know that my sperm count was around 8,000 ( a normal male has around 60,000-80,000 guys on any given day) and "there wasn't a good swimmer in the bunch". Their thoughts were that my previous chemo and radiation had a serious effect on my ability to create healthy sperm (Note: I was only 1 years out of treatment and I hadn't fully recovered yet). Following surgery I did more chemo and radiation and made a full recovery. However, I can't ejaculate (don't worry I can still "finish" just with out the mess). I am engaged and we talk about having kids. The process will be a little more "scientific".

Re: Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:23 pm
by bebbs85
hi, am having the same questions regarding this matter.

my fiance, aged 26, was diagnosed with colon cancer late this june, he underwent total colectomy with partial cystectomy because the tumor in his sigmoid are adhered to his bladder. nothing has spread to other organs but 4 out of 54 lymph nodes were positive and he is presently undergoing chemotherapy in singapore. prior to his chemo, his initial PET scan showed a small hot spot which was located in the area where his tumor has been.

at first he was given 5-FU, erbitux, and oxaliplatin. worried that we won't be able to have children in the future, we asked the oncologist if we need to have his sperm banked but assured us that there's nothing to worry about regarding that matter. after 3 rounds of chemo he proceeded with his PET scan and showed that his "hot spot" is a stubborn one and did not shrink (but didn't spread not got bigger). so the oncologist changed his chemo to avastin, 5-FU, and camptosar.

one thing that bothers us right now is that we were so much focused on the hot spot we forgot to ask if the chances for us to have kids would be the same not that my fiance's oncologist changed his treatment plan. am afraid that maybe it's too late to have his sperm banked for the future. :(

Re: Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:20 pm
by Larry
Each case is unique but perhaps my situation may be comforting to you. I finished 12 rounds of folfox Dec 2007. I was worried that I did not bank sperm but my orrigional oncologist who had many years of experience said it would not be necessary. I am happy to report that my wife became pregnant Aug 2008. I am also much older than your husband so perhaps his chances would be even better! (Our first child was born oct 2007 during my 8th round of chemo but we conceived before I was diagnosed with colon CA.) Seek advice from an experienced oncologist who has been around a while and may have seen situations similar to yours. Hope this helps a little, best wishes to you.

Re: Fathering children after colon cancer

Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:20 am
by bebbs85
thanks so much! that sure is good news! and congratulations for your new bundle of joy on the way! :D