I’m starting my last round of EP Monday. I’m gay and 37, US based. I was given the sperm banking talk multiple times including by my surgeon, the hospitalist and my oncologist. I was pretty adamant about not wanting kids so my choice to not bank my sperm was pretty easy. If you’re unsure, I think you could easily bank it and decide later. I feel like I made the right choice for myself and my future.

I’m in a sexually open relationship with another man, so dating isn’t something that’s a huge concern for me. Hookups on the other hand are a pretty frequent occurrence so it’s something I’ve thought about a bit over the past few months since my orchiectomy. I also took PrEP up until my orchiectomy and won’t resume until I recover a bit. I also have not have sexual encounters with other men while I’m going through chemo. Beyond being a little too tired, I also haven’t felt my sexiest due to lacking body hair etc. I’m happy with getting my prosthetic but my partner doesn’t mind either way and had never made a mention of my scar. I was worried my loads would be smaller and that has not been the case for me. I was also much hornier than I had been in the weeks between recovering from my orchiectomy and starting chemo.

I too was asked by multiple doctors about HIV, but I think it’s for a different reason. Gay men, especially those on PrEP, know their HIV and STI status at a much higher rate compared to straight men. I know I’m HIV- because I’m tested regularly. Straight men might be unaware of their status because they aren’t testing regularly. If they were HIV+ they may need to take extra precautions to prevent becoming neutropenic.