Know How To Save Pregnant Woman From Breast Cancer

Know How To Save Pregnant Woman From Breast Cancer

It is essential to have breast cancer screening throughout pregnancy. If there are any lumps or any suspicious symptoms, they need to be examined by a doctor.

Mostly expected mother’s don’t have breast cancer, but sometimes mothers-to-be have breast cancer. It doesn’t mean that getting pregnant cause cancer, but the hormonal changes during pregnancy can indeed increase the growth rate of the disease.

When you are pregnant, your breasts thicken, so it becomes difficult to detect small lumps or masses. And due to this reason, the tumors of breast cancer are often more extensive and more advanced at the time when they are diagnosed.

So, it is essential to have breast cancer screening throughout pregnancy. If there are any lumps or any suspicious symptoms, they need to be examined by a doctor.

How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?

While you are pregnant, the best thing you can do is to see your doctor regularly. These regular visits to a doctor are called prenatal checkups, and they are necessary for keeping you as well as your baby in good condition. And during these visits, you may have breast screening to check for changes.

While a mammogram is considered to be safe during pregnancy, it may not be considered as helpful due to the increased density of the breasts. Therefore, a three-dimensional mammogram could be a better option.

When a suspicious lump is spotted, your doctor will do a biopsy. The doctor will remove a small sample of this tissue by making a short cut or with the help of a needle. Then this sample tissue will be checked under a microscope and with other methods to find out if there are any cancer cells.

Even your doctor can also do the ultrasound for assessing the extent of the disease.

What Happens to My Baby if I Have Breast Cancer?

It is wrong if you think that terminating the pregnancy would improve a woman’s chances of defeating cancer. And, there is no evidence that the cancer is harmful to the baby. But the treatments indeed have risks.

Surgery is considered to be safe during any trimester of pregnancy. If the cancer is in the early stages, the doctor will probably suggest removing either the lump (lumpectomy) or the complete breast (mastectomy). When you are in the first or second trimester, then mastectomy is preferred. And, lumpectomy is mostly done when a woman is diagnosed in the last trimester. Radiation therapy generally doesn’t start during pregnancy because it is harmful to the baby.

During the cancer surgery, the surgeon will check the lymph nodes to find out if they are affected. He will extract the ones where the cancer is most probably to have spread. If there is the requirement of chemotherapy, the doctor will wait until after the first trimester to decrease the chances of cancer harming the body.

But if the cancer is in the advanced stage, there is a requirement of both surgery and chemotherapy. It will increase the risk for the baby. It is a tough decision to undergo treatment or not. So, talk to your doctor and family to see what is right for you.