If my male partner has been treated for cancer, does that mean he is infertile?

There are several factors that determine the impact cancer treatment has had on your partner’s fertility. Depending on the type of cancer, the type of cancer treatment, and your partner’s age, fertility may or may not have been affected. Below are some basic questions you may have:

How does cancer treatment affect a man’s fertility?

Once radiation therapy or chemotherapy has been initiated, it can often have a negative effect on the sperm that develop within the testicle and epididymus. In many cases, it is unknown exactly what effect the cancer treatment has had on an individual’s sperm. Though it is possible that chemotherapy or radiation therapy may damage an individual’s sperm, the degree of damage is often difficult to measure. Infertility specialists can assess various qualities related to the health of the sperm, such as the movement (motility), overall appearance, and shape of the sperm.

If a sperm’s DNA is damaged, this may negatively affect the ability of a sperm to fertilize an egg and, additionally, if fertilization does occur, it may affect the ability of the subsequent embryo that’s formed to undergo normal development within the female reproductive tract. This is something that will need to be determined by a fertility specialist.

It’s also important to realize that the underlying cancer process can also impair a man’s reproductive potential. The body’s response to the cancer may negatively affect a man’s sperm concentration, his desire for sexual activity, and his ability to achieve and maintain erections. All of these things are very important in a man’s ability to have children. Understanding the difference between impotence and infertility is a key part of determining to what level cancer and cancer treatment has affected your body and mind. Click on the links to the right to get more information.

So what is the difference between impotence and infertility?

There is an important distinction between male impotence and male infertility. Impotence refers to the ability to achieve and maintain an erection, and infertility addresses the ability to achieve a pregnancy. Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is an issue or a condition that is often seen in men who have and have had cancer. Oftentimes cancer will lead to a change in your hormones. It can cause a drop in testosterone, and that drop in testosterone may not only affect the ability to achieve and maintain an erection, but it may also affect the libido. These two things together can certainly have a negative effect on fertility.

Infertility, due to a lower sperm count and fewer sperm with normal movement patterns, can also arise due to cancer or cancer treatment, but this is different than erectile dysfunction.

If your partner and his doctor are able to distinguish specifically what he’s going through, there are a number of solutions for impotence and infertility.

One easy thing to do is make lifestyle changes that can help optimize fertility. Click on the question to your right relating to this topic to learn more.

There are also procedures that can assist men with low sperm count. Click on the question to your right relating to this topic to learn more.