Twins

Hi Folks. It has been a long time since I’ve updated you here. Big positive news on my end. My wife and I went through fertility treatment i.e., in vitro fertilization (IVF) over the last few months, and now have twins on the way! If you’re interested in learning more about the IVF process, take a look at Jess’ blog at: http://jessicastetson.blogspot.com

In the clear

I had another 3-month checkup at Dana-Farber on Monday. My CT scan and blood work came back normal. My oncologist believes that I’m in the clear now, meaning a recurrence is unlikely. My appointment frequency has been extended from quarterly to biannually, with the next one in December.

We spoke briefly about my Severe Oligospermia diagnosis. The oncologist believes that my body could naturally overcome it, but I shouldn’t wait and hope for that–in vitro is the starting point when ready for family planning.

Severe Oligospermia

I received news from my primary care physician regarding my fertility lab results. Not good, but somewhat expected. I’ve got severe oligospermia, which means having kids the good old-fashioned way isn’t going to happen. The normal counts are 20 million per milliliter. I’m at 700,000 per milliliter. Prior to chemo, the sperm bank stated that my counts were low, but I can’t recall what the numbers were. The good news is that there still is an option available, it is called Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). That means a test-tube baby (e.g., one sperm, one egg, fertilized outside the womb). Jess and I are going to find out more information about this. I imagine our insurance company will have an elaborate vetting process for such an expensive procedure.