Fertility and Cancer
Male options before cancer treatment
This section has information about ways you can preserve your fertility before starting cancer treatment. It’s ideal to discuss the options with your cancer or fertility specialist at this time.
Sperm banking (cryopreservation) and radiation shielding are well-established ways to preserve fertility. Surgically extracting sperm from the testicles is another way to store sperm for later use. The option that is right for you depends on the type of cancer you have and your personal preferences.
Keep in mind that no method works all of the time. Fertility treatments carry some risks and your doctor should discuss these before you go home.
If you didn’t have an opportunity to discuss your options before starting cancer treatment, you can still consider your fertility later. Your choices after treatment will depend on whether you are able to produce sperm.
Learn more about the options below.
What this is
- collecting, freezing and storing sperm
- this is the standard way of preserving fertility in males
When this is used
- when you want to store sperm for the future
- samples can be stored for up to 20 years
- legal limits on how long sperm can be stored are different in each state and territory; it’s possible to ask for an extension
- your fertility clinic can advise about time limits and the cost of storage
How this works
- the procedure is performed in hospital or in a sperm bank facility (also called an andrology unit)
- samples are collected in a private room where you can masturbate or have a partner sexually stimulate you, and then ejaculate into a jar
- it’s recommended that you provide 2–3 samples; you may need to visit the clinic more than once to make sure enough semen is collected
- sperm is then frozen until needed
- when you are ready to have a child, the frozen sperm is thawed and used to fertilise an egg using IVF
What to consider
- if you collect semen at home, you must keep the sample close to body temperature and get it to the sperm bank facility within an hour
- if you want to collect semen during sex, you must use a special condom you can get from the sperm bank facility
- if you are unable to ejaculate, there are medical ways to encourage ejaculation
- if you are unable to produce a sample of semen, sperm may be collected using testicular sperm extraction
- you may feel nervous and embarrassed going to a sperm bank, or worry whether you will be able to ejaculate; the medical staff are used to these situations; you can also bring someone with you
What this is
- protecting the testicles from external beam radiation therapy with a shield
When this is used
- if the testicles are close to where radiation beams are directed (but are not the target of the radiation), they can be protected from the radiation beams
How this works
- protective lead coverings called shields are used
What to consider
- this technique does not guarantee that radiation will not affect the testicles, but it does provide some level of protection
What this is
- a way of looking for sperm inside the testicular tissue
- also called surgical sperm retrieval
When this is used
- when you can’t ejaculate
- when there is not enough sperm in the semen sample
- to collect sperm from men with retrograde ejaculation
How this works
- under anaesthetic, a fine needle is inserted into the epididymis or testicle to find and extract sperm; this is called testicular aspiration
- if no sperm is found, your specialist may do an open biopsy to retrieve a larger tissue sample
- collected sperm is frozen and can later be used to fertilise eggs during IVF
What to consider
- in rare cases, no sperm is found in the testicular tissue
Featured resource
This information is reviewed by
This information was last reviewed October 2022 by the following expert content reviewers: Prof Martha Hickey, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne and Director, Gynaecology Research Centre, The Royal Women’s Hospital, VIC; Dr Sally Baron-Hay, Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital and Northern Cancer Institute, NSW; Anita Cox, Cancer Nurse Specialist and Youth Cancer Clinical Nurse Consultant, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Kate Cox, McGrath Breast Health Nurse Consultant, Gawler/ Barossa Region, SA; Jade Harkin, Consumer; A/Prof Yasmin Jayasinghe, Director Oncofertility Program, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Chair, Australian New Zealand Consortium in Paediatric and Adolescent Oncofertility, Senior Research Fellow, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The University Of Melbourne, VIC; Melissa Jones, Nurse Consultant, Youth Cancer Service SA/NT, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Dr Shanna Logan, Clinical Psychologist, The Hummingbird Centre, Newcastle West, NSW; Stephen Page, Family Law Accredited Specialist and Director, Page Provan, QLD; Dr Michelle Peate, Program Leader, Psychosocial Health and Wellbeing Research (emPoWeR) Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne, VIC; Pampa Ray, Consumer; Prof Jane Ussher, Chair, Women’s Health Psychology, and Chief Investigator, Out with Cancer study, Western Sydney University, NSW; Prof Beverley Vollenhoven AM, Carl Wood Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University and Director, Gynaecology and Research, Women’s and Newborn, Monash Health and Monash IVF, VIC; Lesley Woods, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA.