Peter Bovolaneas chose to look into sperm banking on the advice of his doctors. As a two-time testicular cancer survivor who knew he wanted a family from a young age, he was thankful the option of sperm banking was available and offered to him before his treatment.
Peter has also been a spokesperson for Testicular Cancer Canada and is currently a mentor and spokesperson for Young Adults Cancer Canada. Peter feels compelled to share his survivor story publicly in order to help bring awareness to the disease and to encourage early detection. He is determined to show young people that even though cancer may “suck”, you should always live your life to its fullest, no matter what your medical history or prognosis might look like. Peter’s enthusiasm and zest for life is unparalleled.
Watch Peter’s story in our documentary series Balls. Testicular cancer is a very treatable disease if caught early. And it doesn’t mean that someone who wants to be a father can’t have that option if they are able to bank sperm prior to treatment.
Egg storage for IVF
Early diagnoses is particularly challenging when it comes to this particular cancer because it mostly effects male teenagers and young men, who are typically very guarded when it comes to talking about health and their private parts. To help trigger this conversation, as we have done in our documentary Balls, Testicular Cancer Canada uses comedy to address the disease and to create a healthy dialogue for men. Young men tend to respond to humor. Check out these hilarious and attention “grabbing” (pun intended) public service announcements from Testicular Cancer Canada:
I can’t stress enough how important it is to target young men and to get them to check their testicles for irregularities on a regular basis, like most women do for breast exams. Men need to take ownership of their testicular health. Just check ‘em, cause nobody else will; not a cop, nor a mechanic and certainly not your mom. The PSAs above really drive the point home. They make you giggle, but they also make you think. It should be noted that chemotherapy, radiation therapy and subsequent cancer surgeries can effect sperm production and sperm health. That said, if you have any inkling that you might want to have children, you should consider sperm banking ASAP.
Because Peter wants to have kids, he decided to bank his sperm before each orchiectomy (the surgical removal of one or both testicles). Peter and Adolfo (his fiancé) will be getting married this fall and hope to be fathers in the very near future. Their wedding is going to be a “Big Fat Greek/ Italian Wedding” with a huge guest list and a food menu what will go on for days! Peter’s only sadness around the approaching wedding date is that his father recently passed away from cancer and will not be there. Cancer sucks.
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