The treatments used against cancer must be very powerful. That's why patients may have some unpleasant side effects. Many men worry that losing one testicle will affect their ability to have sexual intercourse or make them sterile . But a man with one healthy testicle can still have a normal erection and produce sperm. Therefore, an operation to remove just one testicle does not make a patient impotent and seldom interferes with fertility .
Men can also have an artificial testicle, called a prosthesis , placed in the scrotum.
The implant has the weight and feel of a normal testicle. Surgery to remove the lymph nodes does not change a man's ability to have an erection or an orgasm, but the operation can cause sterility because it interferes with ejaculation . Patients should talk with the doctor about the possibility of removing the lymph nodes using a special surgical technique that may protect the ability to ejaculate. Radiation therapy affects both normal and cancerous cells, but normal cells are able to recover. Having treatments 5 days a week for several weeks spreads out the total dose of radiation and gives the patient weekend rest breaks.