How long after my fiance finishes chemo would i have to wait before becoming pregnant?

Question

my fiance was dignosed with secondary liver cancer 7 months ago and received 2 different chemotherapy combinations. i am not sure exactly which but i know cisplatin was used and so was dacarbazine. 6 weeks ago we were told that they were not going to continue with chemo as it had not been effective. He has been given a matter of months to live but i have always wanted a child with him. we were due to get married but had to cancel. i want to know how much of a risk we would be taking if we were to start trying now. we obviously don't have years to wait but if there is a substantial risk of abnormalities then we won't try but if the risk is very small we will definitely consider it. if any one knows much about this i would really appreciate some advice. Thank you
Clare

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I would wait about 6 weeks to start trying, just to make sure the chemo is out of his system.

Chemo can cause infertility, but it doesn't always. If time is of the essence, he can get his sperm count checked. I would say there is not a substantial risk for fetal abnormalities, but infertility there is a chance.

Answer 2

You do know chemo can make you unable to have children right? I would speak to his doctors and see if there is even a possibility and then you can collect a sample to be stored if it is viable. God Bless and good luck

Answer 3

Unfortunately, many chemotherapeutic drugs are anti-mitotics, that is, they are effective against cells that are dividing. Since sperm cells are derived from cells that are dividing, they are generally damaged severely by the administration of chemo. It would not be unusual for the patient to be sterile as a result of the treatment. Sometimes, sperm counts can recover after chemotherapy but not terribly often or terribly quickly.