Brian

Brian Weil’s Story

The Choice Cancer Didn’t Get to Make

Brian Weil was already a father when cancer threatened his fertility. His twin boys were just infants. He and his wife, Gabby, already had the beginnings of the family they’d dreamed of. Then, at just 30 years old, Brian was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Suddenly, nearly every decision felt as though it had been made for him. He was going to get surgery. He was going to undergo chemotherapy. He needed to move fast.

But Brian and Gabby weren’t ready to let cancer decide their future family. Fertility preservation through sperm banking became a way to keep that option open. At a moment when cancer seemed to take away nearly every other choice, preserving his fertility gave Brian a small piece of his future back.

A Cancer Diagnosis on Mother’s Day

Brian’s cancer journey began on Mother’s Day in 2025. He and Gabby had plans to take their twin boys to the zoo when Brian noticed some dull pain in one of his testicles. It felt strange, but manageable enough to push through. He didn’t want to derail the day over something he hoped would pass. It didn’t. Later that night, Brian went to the hospital. The diagnosis came quickly: stage 2B testicular cancer that had spread to a lymph node. Two days later, Brian’s left testicle was removed. Within weeks, he began three cycles of chemotherapy.

There was little time to process what was happening. Brian was a young husband and father facing cancer while Gabby cared for twin infants…and him. Amid the whirlwind, Brian and Gabby were trying to think beyond survival. They might want more children someday, and Brian knew chemotherapy could affect that possibility.

The Fertility Preservation Conversation He Had to Start

Maybe it was because he was already a father? Maybe it was a communication gap in the healthcare system, but it was Brian who raised concerns with his healthcare team about the possibility of having more children in the future.

A nurse practitioner followed up with a “boilerplate message” directing him to the health system’s fertility center. He had a referral, but that only led to more questions and more pressure.

Getting into the fertility center meant coordination, insurance authorization, and time, the latter of which he didn’t have. The scheduling at the health system facility involved roughly a two-week wait! How do you balance the urgency of surgery, followed by cancer treatment, with preserving your chances of having more biological children that demands a wait of at least two weeks?

That didn’t feel reasonable, especially knowing that every day he waited, his cancer could continue to spread. So he started searching on his own.

When the System Couldn’t Move as Fast as Cancer

Brian eventually found a private sperm bank about an hour away. He drove there multiple times to bank sperm before chemotherapy began and paid $1,800 for collection and storage fees. It wasn’t particularly personal or comforting. It was another task on an already overwhelming list during one of the most frightening moments of his life. But Brian got it done.

Looking back, he believes the experience exposed a significant gap in patient care. Much of the responsibility fell on him. He had to raise the question, research alternatives, find somewhere that could see him quickly, and weigh insurance coverage against the urgency of starting cancer treatment.

He did all of that while processing a cancer diagnosis, preparing for chemotherapy, and helping care for twin infants at home. Brian doesn’t think patients should have to become fertility experts in the days after hearing the word “cancer.”

Information may exist online, but finding what makes sense for each individual is nuanced. And in a high-pressure situation, Brian hopes to see healthcare teams provide better guidance around what information matters, applies to them, and steps they should take next to preserve their fertility. 

Preserving “Optionality”

Brian talks about fertility preservation in terms of “optionality.” Cancer can quickly narrow a person’s choices. Treatment moves forward because it has to.

Family-building is different. Someone may not know whether they want children. They may already be parents but not know whether their family is complete. They may be single or years away from thinking seriously about parenthood.

Brian believes cancer patients deserve the chance to leave those decisions for later. Preserving his fertility gave him and Gabby that opportunity. At a time when so much felt outside of his control, keeping one future choice alive  mattered.

A Story That Is Still Unfolding

Brian completed chemotherapy and is now in remission, with ongoing scans monitoring his health. His fertility story is still unfolding. Several months after chemotherapy, testing showed that Brian’s fertility was severely impacted by treatment. However, over time, it’s gotten better. And because he fiercely advocated for fertility preservation options, if they can’t conceive without assisted reproductive technology, the banked sperm he fiercely advocated for is available.

Why Brian Advocates

Brian says cancer is a chapter of his life, but he doesn’t let the negative aspects of his experience define his entire story. Instead, he chooses to do something useful with these experiences.

He wants policymakers to understand how difficult it can be for patients to navigate insurance requirements, find fertility preservation, be more aware of the expenses that can be incurred, and how difficult it is to make those decisions with cancer treatment looming. 

He believes that when an oncologist delivers a formal cancer diagnosis, the immediate next step is a fully covered, expedited fertility preservation plan, eliminating the agonizing choice between starting treatment and preserving a future family. 

He wants other young adults facing cancer to know fertility preservation may matter even when parenthood feels distant or when they already have children. And he wants health care providers to understand that handing someone a website link or sending a generic email linking to a fertility center is not enough. Cancer already asks patients to surrender enough control.

The future of their family shouldn’t be one more thing cancer decides for them.

Through Worth the Wait and the Oncofertility Speakers Bureau, Brian hopes to make fertility preservation easier to understand, easier to access, and harder for healthcare teams to overlook for the next young adult facing cancer.