- Why can cancer treatment make pregnancy difficult?
- How to improve the chances of getting pregnant?
- Is it possible to breastfeed after breast cancer?
- Could the baby get cancer?
After treatment for breast cancer it is advised that the woman wait about 2 years before starting attempts to conceive. However, the longer it waits, the less likely it is that the cancer will return, making it safer for her and the baby.
Despite this being a weighted medical recommendation, there are reports of women who became pregnant in less than 2 years and had no changes. But, it is important to clarify that pregnancy alters estrogen levels in the body, which can favor the recurrence of cancer and therefore, the longer a woman waits to become pregnant, the better.
Why can cancer treatment make pregnancy difficult?
Aggressive treatment against breast cancer, carried out with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, can destroy eggs or induce an early menopause, which can make pregnancy difficult and even make women infertile.
However, there are many cases of women who were able to conceive normally after breast cancer treatment. Thus, women are always advised to discuss their risk of recurrence with their oncologist and in some cases, this advice can help women with complex issues and uncertainties about motherhood after treatment.
How to improve the chances of getting pregnant?
Since it is not possible to predict whether the woman will be able to conceive, young women who wish to have children but who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are advised to remove some eggs to freeze so that in the future they can resort to the technique of IVF if they are unable to get pregnant naturally in 1 year of trying.
Is it possible to breastfeed after breast cancer?
Women who have had treatment for breast cancer, and did not have to remove the breast, can breastfeed without restrictions because there are no cancer cells that can be transmitted or that affect the baby's health. However, radiotherapy, in some cases, can damage the cells that produce milk, making breastfeeding difficult.
Women who have had breast cancer in only one breast can also breastfeed normally with a healthy breast. If it is necessary to continue taking cancer drugs, the oncologist will be able to inform if it will be possible to breastfeed or not, because some drugs may pass into breast milk, and breast-feeding is contraindicated.
Could the baby get cancer?
Cancer has a family involvement and, therefore, children are at a higher risk of developing the same type of cancer, however, this risk is not increased by the breastfeeding process.
