Unfortunately, each year, there are 700.000 breast cancer victims all over the globe. The doctors still can not explain why some people get sick and others do not. Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases in women and the only way to save the patient, is an early detection and treatment of chemotherapy. However, breast cancer is common also in pregnant women.

But does it affect pregnancy? One in 1000 pregnant women develops breast cancer, existing the risk that both baby and the mother, to be devastated. Having breast cancer and also being pregnant, lots of changes takes place in women breasts. During pregnancy, the breasts increase their volume, become hard and painful, and there appear some unusual symptoms. Do not ignore these symptoms because they are not all related to pregnancy! Show you doctor the changes you see, because some can be pathological.

However, opinions are divided. Some experts say that having breast cancer during pregnancy women risk losing the baby or to give birth prematurely and others say that breast cancer doesn’t affect pregnancy. One thing is sure. breast cancer can’t spread to the baby. But what about the treatment? Well, in a recent study, some women with breast cancer were followed during pregnancy. Most of them had an advanced form of breast cancer.

Due to advanced stage, 16 patients (70%) have made chemotherapy with anthracyclines in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimester, pending surgical excision of the tumor. This type of chemotherapy has the least harmful effect on the fetus and is the preferred method in pregnant women where radiotherapy and surgery, in generally, are avoided.

12 women out of 16, performed mammograms to track the tumor response to chemotherapy. Researchers have demonstrated that the patients responded accurately to the treatment.

So, breast cancer does not appear to affect the fetus and also pregnancy does not appear to affect survival women who had breast cancer in the past. Some doctors recommend that a woman should wait 2 years after breast cancer treatment, to have a child and so any relapse of the cancer can be detected.

This could affect a woman’s decision to become pregnant but it does not appear that fetus may be affected if the mother had breast cancer in the past; effect of some certain cancer treatments on subsequent pregnancy, are not known. (  not even effects of treatment with high dose of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplation, with or without radiotherapy, on a future pregnancy, are not known).

On the other hand, lactation (milk production by the mammary gland) and breast feeding should be stopped if surgery and chemotherapy are planned. That is because the blood flow in the mammary gland must be reduced and indeed the size too or because many anticancer drugs, especially cyclophosphamide and methotrexate, may occur at high levels in the breast milk and can affect the baby.

However, breastfeeding is beneficial for both, mother and child, reducing the risk of breast cancer. A study of cancer statistics conducted by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has shown that breastfeeding mothers for a year, 4.8% less risk of breast cancer.

This process reduces the level of certain cancerous hormones which are present in mother’s blood and at the end of the breastfeeding, mother’s body eliminates the damaged breast cells, which have might transform in the future, into tumors. Breastfeeding is beneficial also to prevent ovarian cancer decreases the risk of myocardial stroke with almost 25%. Also, breast milk strengthens the child’s health, protecting him against intestinal parasites, asthma, lung infections and allergies.