Pregnancy After Breast Cancer Treatment

After treatment of breast cancer to the satisfaction of her oncologist, should a women who desire to get pregnant be discouraged from doing so? A very critical question considering the fact that there are close to half a million breast cancer survivors living in the US and are in the childbearing age.

For a very long time, counseling of women regarding pregnancy was dependent on the fact that estrogen increases during pregnancy and because estrogen has some effects on both estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative tumors, its probably better if women avoid pregnancy-unless of course another woman is carrying for them, a gestational carrier.

A woman might not conceive after breast cancer treatment. This usually happens if the radiation treatment was done on the ovaries. This could be as a result of the disease spreading to the ovaries. Infertility may also be as a result of some of the chemotherapy treatments.

When this happens, the woman is unable to conceive and may have to consider other options such as adoption. Another problem associated with the available treatment options is that they could result in early menopause. This also results in a woman being unable to conceive.

A number of treatments for breast cancer, like certain chemo drugs, might have an effect on a woman's fertility. Still, lots of women are able to become pregnant after treatment. Women concerned in relation to their fertility ought to converse to their doctors regarding this prior to beginning treatment.

Generally speaking, tamoxifen, chemotherapy, radiation, and other drug-related therapies are avoided if the woman is pregnant because of their associated risks with birth defects. Tamoxifen, especially, is considered very unsafe because it is a hormonal therapy and is never recommended if the woman is pregnant or planning on conceiving.

Appearance of first menses before the age of 12 significantly increases (by about 40%) the risk of breast cancer. Natural menopause appearing after age 55 increases risk of breast cancer twofold. Thus, the most important factor is the total number of years of ovulation activity.

Breast cancer accounts for one third of new cancers in women. If it is detected early, it is better supported. Women with breast cancer benefit from treatment tailored to their pathology. Four technologies are mainly used. In order of importance: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

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